


electric love

by blake0tyler



Category: Women's Soccer RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, F/F, chaotic alex morgan, everyone is oblivious
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-19
Updated: 2019-07-24
Packaged: 2020-07-08 19:19:48
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 23,296
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19874740
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blake0tyler/pseuds/blake0tyler
Summary: As a best friend, Alex knows — she just knows — that there are really only three things that Tobin genuinely cares about: black coffee early in the morning, playing soccer, and kissing girls at parties when she’s slightly too tipsy.Alex also knows that dating pretty transfer students from Stanford does not fit into that category anywhere.She knows.Okay, she’s fairly sure, at least.//Christen & Tobin at college.(& Alex’s perspective on the whole thing).





	1. I.

**Author's Note:**

> A/N:  
> I don’t know what’s up with me branching out to all these different fandoms lately, but all I can say in my own defense is that the Women’s World Cup made me a lot gayer, and I guess this is where I’ll be going with all of that excess energy.
> 
> Full disclaimer: I know nothing about how US soccer is played in college. All mistakes are mine. Also, the whole USWNT is somehow in the same college team. This is why they call it fanfiction.

_candy she’s sweet like candy in my veins._

_electric love —_ _BØRNS_

:::

Later, way later, Alex will say that she is the one who figured it out first.

Now, though, there is nothing to figure out. Not yet.

:::

Tobin kisses a girl at the party, but that’s fine, because she’s always kissing some girl at some party.

Alex isn’t too fazed.

She takes another sip from her vodka soda, trying to stay focused on whatever nonsense story the frat guy in front of her is trying to tell her—something about his roommate and his roommate’s dog, or whatever.

She’s trying to have a good time, but seriously, this guy is so boring, and Alex has a chem lab at 8.30 tomorrow, has been ready to go home for, like, an hour already, not even willing to _think_ about the fact that the first soccer practice of the season is happening in less than twelve hours, but Tobin—

Tobin is currently pressing some pretty girl with long dark hair against the kitchen counter, hands on the girl’s hips, rocking into it in a way that’s entirely inappropriate considering the fact that there’s about fifty other people here, and, _god_. 

Alex feels like she should really get more credit for being such a good friend.

“—and then it turns out that it had been someone else’s dog all the time!”

The frat guy bursts out laughing and Alex raises her eyebrows and hums. “That’s great.”

She really wants to leave.

“Hey.” The guy leans back against the wall. “Want to go outside for a second?”

Alex fights the urge to roll her eyes, says flatly, “No, thanks.”

The guy shrugs. “It looks like you’re roommate is having fun—I figured that maybe you and I should—”

“Yeah, no,” Alex cuts in. “That’s not going to happen.”

He leans a little closer, still grinning smugly, and Alex is getting just about ready to punch him in the face if she has to, when, finally, _finally_ , there’s a hand on her arm, and suddenly, Tobin’s right next to her again, swaying a little on her feet, looking wrecked in a way that has Alex rolling her eyes. Her hair is messed up and her lips are slightly swollen, but at least, the frat guy seems to get the hint and walks away from them.

“Hey,” Tobin says, her voice all hoarse.

“Jesus,” Alex says, forgoing polite greetings. “Have you even washed your hands?”

Tobin shakes her head—which has Alex aggressively swatting Tobin’s fingers off her arm—and then she sighs, leaning back against the wall, looking very sorry for herself. “We didn’t… She— she had to go… Said she had a really busy day tomorrow.”

“Shame,” Alex says, sarcastically. “Get over it, we need to go home.”

“You don’t understand,” Tobin says. “She was so pretty, Alex. Like, _really_ pretty. Prettiest girl I’ve ever seen.” 

“What’s her name?” Alex says, easing up only ever slightly, because to be fair, Tobin never looks this affected, really. Not after drunkenly making out with someone at a some random frat house party—which, is a pretty regular occurrence. 

“No idea,” Tobin says. “We didn’t really — well, we didn’t get to that.”

Alex makes a noise that’s half exasperation at Tobin’s social skills and half relief that at least she won’t have to listen to Tobin sighing this girl’s name all the way home. She shakes her head in disbelief. “Okay, great. Let’s go. You need to sober up. Kelley is going to kill me for even letting you get this drunk.”

“Kelley should have gone out with us.”

“But Kelley makes smarter decisions than we do.”

Tobin grins at that, swings her arm over Alex’s shoulder and presses a wet kiss to her cheek. “Do you know that I love you?”

“You only love soccer.” Alex rubs at her cheek. “Also, gross. God knows where that mouth just was.”

Tobin gets a slightly darker look in her eyes just thinking about it. “Fuck, Alex, she really was _so_ hot…”

“Yeah, yeah,” Alex says, grimacing. “So you’ve said. Whatever. We both know you’re going to be over it tomorrow.” 

:::

Turns out, sometimes Alex is wrong.

:::

It’s only the first day of the semester, but she feels half dead when she wakes up.

Alex didn’t even drink _that_ much last night. It’s more the fact that she only got about four hours of sleep and now has to spend the next four in a chilly chemistry lab with people she hates.

She rummages through her closet, hurriedly stuffing her soccer cleats and jersey into her bag and trying to assemble a nice enough outfit for class at the same time. She can’t find her running shorts—Tobin has probably stolen them again—and her hair should really be washed, but there is just _no time_.

When she makes her way into the kitchen, Kelley is already up—showered and smiling over her coffee, all rested and in no hurry, of course.

“Morning,” she says, “I didn’t even hear you guys come home last night. What time did you get back?”

Ales grumbles a barely audible response.

“Hm?”

“Tobin’s fault,” Alex repeats. “Kell, have you seen my running shorts?”

Kelley ignores the question, grinning instead.

Alex holds up her hand. “No, I don’t want to hear—”

“I told you, Alex. I told you that going out the day before school starts was a bad idea.”

“Well yeah, someone needed to make sure Heath stayed out of trouble.”

“And did she?” 

As if on cue, the door to Tobin’s room creaks open, and then Tobin is stumbling out, barefoot, with her blanket still wrapped completely around her, eyes half closed and a pained expression on her face. “What the fuck is all this noise at 4 in the morning.”

“It’s 8.17,” Alex says pointedly. 

“Woah.” Kelley’s eyes go wide at the sight of Tobin. “Someone is a little hungover.”

Alex really has no time for this. “Yes, and _someone_ needs to be at her chemistry lab in exactly thirteen minutes so if both of you could get out of my way, I can make myself some fucking coffee already.”

Tobin’s eyebrows shoot up. “Oh, coffee, yes please. Love you, Alex.”

“Not for you,” Alex snaps. “You don’t deserve it.”

Kelley laughs, reaching out her arms and allowing Tobin to climb onto the couch with her and cuddle into her side. “Heard you had a good night?”

Tobin closes her eyes against Kelley’s shoulder. “She was so _beautiful_ , Kell.”

At that, Kelley’s eyebrows shoot up. “ _She_? Alex didn’t tell me there was a girl.”

She glances over at Alex in surprise, and Alex rolls her eyes, because seriously, there is always a girl, and Kelley should know better than to encourage this.

And _really_ , Alex just needs to get to class already.

She tries to zone out whatever Tobin’s mumbling—unfortunately still overhears “she was such a good kisser” and “holy fuck, her _ass_ was just out of this world”—before she manages to throw her thermos into her bag, rush to the door, and yell back, “You owe me a clean pair of shorts for practice, Heath!”

She gets no response, but at least she made sure not to leave Tobin any coffee.

:::

Chem lab is four hours of absolute hell, and to make things even worse, the freshman that Alex was supposed to tutor after lunch arrives way too late, making her have to _sprint_ all the way across campus in the hopes of still making it to the soccer pitch in time for warm-up.

At least, Tobin—although, in all honesty it was probably Kelley—has listened to her instructions, because there is a clean pair of shorts waiting on top of Alex’s locker. 

She’s already halfway changed, when the door to the locker room swings open and a girl that Alex has never seen before rushes in.

“Shit,” the girl mutters under her breath. “Is this— is this the right changing room?”

Alex pulls her socks up over her shin pads. “Depends. What are you here for?”

“Soccer,” the girl says.

There’s half a moment where Alex feels herself frown, because she’s a senior and she knows every single person on the team, but then she remembers something that Coach said during the briefing a few days ago, and something _clicks_.

“Oh wait—” Alex says. “You’re Press. You’re the Stanford transfer.”

The girl smiles and steps forward, reaching out her hand. “Yeah, I’m Christen. Sorry, I don’t really know my way around yet.”

Alex thinks there’s something vaguely familiar about the girl. Something about the pretty way her long, dark hair tangles down her back, about the look in her eyes. But she can’t really place it yet.

It’s probably just from playing previous games against each other. 

“I’m Alex,” she says. “I’ll take you to the pitch. If we hurry, we’ll still make warm up and Coach won’t be half as mad.”

Christen smiles thankfully and quickly changes into her soccer clothes.

Alex searches through her bag for some Tylenol. This hangover headache is slowly beginning to kill her.

She finds a strip at the bottom of her bag and takes out her bottle of water.

“Can I have one of those?”

Christen has pulled her hair up in a tight ponytail, and Alex can’t help but notice that she’s got a dark red mark low on her neck.

Grinning at the fact that her new teammate apparently managed to get a hickey on her before the semester even started, Alex hands her the strip of pills. “Did you go out last night?” 

“My roommate’s brother was having a party at his house,” Christen says. “Worst decision of my life.”

Alex grins. “Tell me about it.” 

Christen knocks some water back and then says, “All right, I’m ready to go.”

:::

When they jog onto the pitch, the rest of the team is already stretching and passing the ball around. As soon as she catches sight of them, Coach makes everyone gather around her. Alex barely manages to give Kelley a nod in a greeting, no real time to say anything, because Coach is already speaking up.

“Ladies,” she says. “Good to have you all back. First, I’d like to introduce the newest addition to our team. This is Christen Press—”

Alex is looking around for Tobin, hoping to see her a little less hungover than this morning.

“—We’re all very lucky to have her with us this year.”

Out of nowhere, Christen tenses up completely and whispers under her breath, “Oh, _fuck_.”

“—It’s going to be a challenging few weeks, girls. We’re really going to have to support each other and get the best out of our practice time together—”

Alex is already whipping her head around to look at Christen, wondering what the hell just happened, but then she catches sight of Tobin, and—

Oh.

_Oh._

Well, that explains that vague sense of feeling like she’d seen Christen around before.

Tobin is standing a little to the back, eyes fixed on Christen and looking like she’s just about ready to pass out. There’s a high blush on her cheeks—and Alex has _never_ seen Tobin blush, not once in all the years that she’s known her.

Christen’s whole body has gone stiff.

She’s staring at Tobin and biting her lip, and then the smallest of smiles curls around her mouth as she shakes her head like she just can’t believe that this is really happening.

Tobin’s shoulders straighten up at that, and Alex is just looking between the two of them, fighting the urge to roll her eyes, because _of course_.

Of course Tobin made out with their new striker the day before the season starts. 

Coach is going on and on about the training schedule, allowing Tobin some time to compose herself, find some of her usual confidence. Alex watches her kick one of the balls up, balancing it on her foot as she gives Christen an almost challenging kind of look. 

Now it’s Christen’s time to blush, and Alex narrows her eyes.

_What the hell_.

Apart from her, though, no one seems to notice anything is going on, not even Kelley, who is happily nodding along to everything that Coach is saying.

Alex takes a deep breath, trying to focus. Whatever happened between Tobin and Christen, it’s between them, and she doesn’t want to have anything to do with it.

This is a soccer practice.

Thankfully, for the majority of the afternoon, both Tobin and Christen seem to be willing to put aside whatever happened last night in favor of playing the game. Tobin introduces herself along with all the other girls, only holding onto Christen’s hand for maybe one teasing second longer that everyone else. No one seems to think there’s something off about the interaction, though.

If anything, all anyone seems to notice is the way Christen plays.

Because _damn_ , she’s good.

All quick passes and shots on goal and a sort of _head in the game_ attitude that Alex appreciates more than anything else.

Maybe, she thinks, watching Tobin lay the ball right in front of Christen’s foot perfectly, nothing will come from this other than the fact that they’ve now got another great attacker on the team.

So what if they kissed once?

Alex knows Tobin, and she knows what Tobin likes. Black coffee early in the morning, playing soccer, and kissing girls at parties when she’s drunk.

Tobin doesn’t date. 

It’s not like this will go anywhere.

:::

“Wait— _Press_ is the girl you hooked up with last night?”

Tobin drops down on the couch, all sweaty and worn out from practice. “We didn’t hook up, Kell. We just frenched a little.”

Ales groans. “Please don’t ever phrase it like you’re a thirteen year old boy ever again.”

Tobin’s smile turns kind of smug. “Did you see her, though?”

“Yes.” Alex rolls her eyes. “In case you hadn’t noticed, we _do_ play on the same team as you, Heath. The team, mind you, that Press is now also a part of.”

Kelley smacks Tobin’s shoulder as she passes by the couch. “I don’t think I saw anything besides that giant hickey you gave her.”

Tobin looks a bit flustered. “Well, yeah,” she mumbles. “That was—well, she…”

She falls silent at whatever dirty thought is crossing her mind, and Kelley bursts out laughing. 

“I still can’t believe you didn’t recognize her, though,” Alex says, not giving Tobin the chance to finish that thought. “You know, _before_ you started making out with her. We played Stanford so many times.”

Tobin shakes her head. “No, but she barely even played with Stanford. I’m pretty sure she was in Sweden for most of college soccer.”

Alex narrows her eyes. “How do you know this?”

“She told me yesterday that she was living in Sweden last year.” Tobin grins. “I mean, we didn’t do a whole lot of _talking…_ But she said the Sweden thing, so I’m guessing that’s where she played.”

“And now she plays with us,” Kelley says with a smile. “She’s good, man. Did you see how she tackled Emily at the end of practice?”

Alex disappears into the bathroom, effectively ignoring the rest of the conversation.

She’s ready to wash this whole day off of her body and curl up on the couch with her idiot roommates and watch something dumb on Netflix.

:::

“We talked, by the way.”

“Hm?”

Alex barely looks up from her laptop. But Tobin has already shifted closer, ignoring the annoyed looks from the other people sitting across from them at the long table in the far corner of the library. “We talked—Christen and me.”

Alex really needs to focus on this paper. “Without your tongues down each other’s throats? Congratulations.”

“No, Al—just listen to me for a sec.” Alex stops typing, and Tobin adds, “I know you didn’t want to say anything. And I know, after the whole thing last year with you and Julie—” 

Alex’s head snaps up. “Julie and I are fine.”

“I know that,” Tobin rushes to say. “I know, but, well… For a while you weren’t. And I just wanted to say, you don’t need to worry, because nothing is going to happen between Christen and me. We talked. It was just a one-time thing. I know how much the team means to you. It does to me, too.”

Something clenches sort of tightly in Alex’s chest, because Tobin is right. The team _does_ mean a lot to her. To both of them. So, she says, with a soft sort of smile, “You only care about soccer, anyways.”

Tobin’s smile curls wider. “Exactly. And you’re the one that knows me best.”

:::

The thing with Julie last year was stupid.

For the most part, Alex was bored and Julie was recently single, and somehow, it just happened—after a drunken team night out that involved a whole lot of alcohol and karaoke. And then, because it was easy, it kept happening, and for a while everything was fine, but then they started getting annoyed with each other, which would lead to fighting on the pitch, and it just—

You don’t go around dating your teammates.

Alex knows that now.

It’s a good thing Tobin doesn’t date in general.

:::

September passes quickly.

Christen fits into the team well enough. She’s a great player, first of all, and of course, Alex tries to hate her a little bit for in the beginning—she’s never been that great at dealing with competition.

But Christen seems to think that if she’s got anything to learn, Alex is the person to learn it from. She keeps asking Alex to teach her certain combinations, to stay with her after practice to kick the ball around for just a little bit longer. And it’s only for so long that Alex can stay bitter about something like this. Especially when it turns out that Christen and her are actually really similar in a lot of ways.

They care about the game. They only ever want to play.

They also, surprisingly, both seem to prefer a little more quiet from time to time. To be away from the rest of the team, to just study in the library when no one else is around. And that’s nice, because Alex has enough loud people in her life, and Christen seems like a good person to change it up a bit. 

Ultimately, the fact of the matter is, Alex really likes Christen. 

There’s something about her, something open and witty and focused, that draws the whole team to her really quickly. After a few weeks, it’s like she’s never played anywhere else.

Besides, Tobin seems to be able to handle Christen’s presence on the team really well.

Sure, they smirk at each other a little too often sometimes.

Sure, sometimes Tobin will say something that borders on the edge of flirty.

And okay, sometimes Alex gets the feeling that Christen is deliberately slow when changing in and out of her soccer jersey—pretending not to notice Tobin’s eyes on her.

But for the most part, their agreement to let it be a one-time thing seems to work out for the best. Christen doesn’t hang out with Tobin any more than she does with Kelley or Alex. There’s nothing tense between them at all.

They’re teammates.

They’re just friends.

Alex kind of forgets about the whole thing.

:::

“Come on, Heath—it wasn’t your fault.”

“We all mess up those shots sometimes.”

They’re all here, the whole team, stumbling over one another to try and ease the tension, to try and lift the spirits a bit. They’re tired and grumpy and _done_ , and they lost their first away game in a penalty series because Tobin hit the crossbar, but they’re trying.

Alex bites down hard on her lip. “Come on, you know that losing a game is never due to one player.” 

It’s a standard thing that Coach tells them, something that is true, but never really helps.

Tobin seems to agree, kicking her locker. “I don’t need your pity, okay, Alex.”

“Hey,” Kelley says, voice suddenly sharp. “Easy there. She’s just trying to help.”

Tobin groans. “Whatever, I’m going out there again.”

She kicks the ball up, catching it in her hands, before storming out of the locker room and onto the pitch again. There’s a bit of a defeated silence; the first time losing in a new season is always one of the more difficult ones.

“What just—” Christen says, a little confused. “Where did she just go?”

“She does this.” Lindsey rolls her eyes. “She goes out on the pitch whenever we lose and kicks the ball around. For Health, the way to deal with losing at soccer is to play more of it.”

Alex tunes out of the conversation, feeling faintly annoyed at being snapped at like that. It’s not her fault that Tobin hit the crossbar.

Kelley puts her hand on her arm. “You okay?”

“Yeah,” Alex sighs. “I just hate when she gets like that.”

Kelley nods. “She’ll come around within the hour, you know that.”

Alex smiles faintly. “Good game, Kell. You played really great. Even if we lost.”

Kelley squeezes her arm. “You too.” She kicks her soccer cleats off. “You know what? I feel like we need a team night out.”

Alex’s eyebrows shoot up. “ _You_ feel like a team night out? _You_ , of all people?”

Kelley shoves her. “Come on. I’m a fun person.”

“Rarely.” Alex can’t keep the grin off her face, though. “Okay, I think you’re right. Let’s go out tonight. As soon as I’ve changed out of these sweaty clothes, we’ll make a plan.”

:::

Christen is the one to get Tobin off the pitch.

Alex doesn’t fully realize it, because she’s already in too good a mood again to pay a lot of attention to what’s going on. But when they make their way out of the locker room to go fetch Tobin, she catches sight of Christen already out there on the field with her.

Judging by the way that Tobin is shooting at goal, she’s not over her penalty yet, though.

For a moment, Alex leans against the fence and watches Christen swiftly take the ball, watches her feint when Tobin attempts to get it back, watches her shoot on goal, making it land in the corner of the net perfectly.

Tobin is looking annoyed, hands on her hips.

Christen retrieves the ball, and Alex can hear her say, “Oh, you want this back? Maybe you should come and get it.”

A slow smile breaks through on Tobin’s face. “You’re a defender now, Press?”

Morgan and Mallory are debating league teams right next to Alex, so she’s not a hundred percent sure, but it sounds like Christen replies, “Only one way to find out.”

There’s another moment where Tobin doesn’t move, just watches Christen with a soft sort of expression on her face—and then she sprints forward, trying to get the ball again.

It’s a mess, all tangled limbs and pushing each other in ways that would for sure be counted as fouls in a real game—but Alex is watching Tobin loosen all the tension in her body, and Christen tries to take another shot on goal, tripping over her own feet when Tobin drags her back by the hood of her sweater.

“Hey, children!” Kelley yells, making Alex’s attention snap. “Are you going to come out with us, or what? This is taking too long!”

It’s another minute of them fighting for the ball, but then both of them are running back to the team, and Tobin hurries to catch up with Alex.

“Sorry,” she says. “I was being a bitch.”

Alex hums. “Yeah, you were.”

Tobin nudges her shoulder. “I’ll buy you a drink? To make it up.”

Alex tries to stop herself from smiling. “Fine, but you better make that two. One for me and one for Kelley, because it’s a rare miracle that she’s going out with us and we need to take advantage of it.”

Tobin holds out her hand for Alex to slap her own against it. “Count on it.” 

:::

They go out dancing at some stupid club, and they sing along with the music too loudly, and they all get a little more drunk than they were supposed to.

Tobin kisses a girl—although it’s only for a few seconds, and it’s only because she is drunk. And because Alex and Kelley had both refused when Tobin had said, “Let me kiss one of you. I feel like I need to kiss someone tonight. Just for fun.” 

Tobin kisses a girl, and it’s not Christen—although Kelley had laughed and said “Kiss Press if you need someone that badly” and Tobin had wiggled her eyebrows at the suggestion, like she might take her up on it. But then she made her way over to the other side of the club, completely opposite of where Christen had been dancing with Julie and Crystal and Rose.

Tobin kisses girls at parties for fun.

It’s what she does.

Alex is not surprised.

In the end, though, somehow, Tobin _does_ kiss Kelley, too—a smack on her lips that has both of them laughing hysterically after.

And she _does_ kiss Alex—a wet press of lips against her jaw before Alex manages to push her best friend off of her. 

And she also kisses Christen—out of the blue, just for a few seconds, because “it’s only fair if I kiss you too, Press”, and Christen had rolled her eyes, but Alex felt like it looked a little more heated than the kiss between Tobin and the other girl. 

Still, it’s just for fun.

Alex is fairly certain that Tobin kisses Christen just for fun.

:::

On the bus ride home, Christen falls asleep against Alex’s shoulder, all soft and tired, and Alex lets her sleep because she is a good friend.

It’s not until they’re home again that the thought crosses her mind that Christen might have been wearing Tobin’s number 17 team hoodie, rather than her own.

_Huh_ , Alex thinks, because Tobin never really lets anyone get close to her clothes.

But before she gets to ask Tobin about it, her bed is right there, all inviting and warm, and Alex falls asleep without giving it another thought.

:::

Alex knows that she’s pretty smart, okay? She just knows.

Not in an arrogant kind of way. More in a she’s-smart-because-she-does-her-work kind of way. She gets through her bio-chem major with pretty good grades, and she tends to think situations through before she acts on her emotions, and generally, she is good at analyzing what is going on around her.

This, though?

This doesn’t make any sense. It’s so subtle that Alex struggles even to really pay attention to it.

Besides, she knows her friends. She just knows.

She knows Tobin better than anyone else. And yet, there’s something in the way that Tobin and Christen interact with one another that makes Alex pause a little bit.

On the one hand, she feels like it’s just part of being on a team—people have things between them. And, again, she’s barely paying attention to it. But on the other hand, after the weird thing with the sweater, Alex can’t help but notice all of these small little things, all of these little changes that no one but her seems to be aware of.

Like, how Tobin is always bringing Christen coffee before practice now, which she never does for anyone else.

Like, how Christen is somehow over at their house a lot, even though neither Alex and Kelley invite her.

Like, how Alex hasn’t walked in on Tobin trying to get some random girl naked in their kitchen in, like, ever.

The thing is—Tobin’s different when it comes to Christen.

Alex hasn’t figured out exactly what it is, but she’s smart—so she will. She will figure it out.

Eventually.

:::

There’s a team tradition.

During busy periods they sometimes get together for movie nights, to wind down a bit.

It usually takes place at Alex, Tobin and Kelley’s apartment because they’re the only people who live off-campus, and they always end up ordering pizza and laughing way too much, barely watching any movies. But still the tradition stands. Sometimes they go out. Mostly they just hang around the apartment, either until Kelley has kicked everyone out or they’re all fast asleep on the various pieces of furniture.

Surprisingly, it’s at movie night, that Alex slowly begins to piece it together. 

:::

“Obviously, _Prisoner of Azkaban_ is the best movie.”

Kelley shakes her head. “Are you kidding me? For sure, it’s _Halfblood Prince_.”

“ _Halfblood Prince_?” Tobin looks like she might choke. “ _Halfblood Prince_ , Kelley? Have you lost your mind? Maybe _Chamber of Secrets_ after _Prisoner of Azkaban_ , and then _Deathly Hallows_ —both parts—the second one tied with _Order of the Phoenix_ of course. And maybe then we get to _Halfblood Prince_. Although, I would still put _Sorcerer’s Stone_ above that.” She pops an M&M in her mouth. “But fine, we can agree that _Goblet of Fire_ is the worst one.”

Kelley nearly falls of the couch. “ _Goblet of Fire_ is at least top 3!”

Alex has been standing in the doorway for about a minute, observing the scene in front of her with a frown. Christen is on the floor, not exactly leaning against Tobin’s leg, but also not taking any of the available space that is very clearly there. Rose and Morgan are in the chairs. 

Neither one of Alex’s roommates seems to have noticed that she’s there.

“What are they doing?” Alex asks, stepping closer.

It’s Lindsey who answers, coming out of the bathroom. “They’re debating which Harry Potter movie is the best one. Again.”

Alex groans. “Why are we even friends with them, Linds? None of those movies are _any_ good.”

“I know right.” Lindsey grins.

“Cedric’s character was so important to the representation of Hufflepuffs in the series, Tobin—”

“You only say that because you _are_ a Hufflepuff!”

“Is there something wrong with Hufflepuff? Is that what you’re implying?”

“Oh, Jesus,” Lindsey says. “The Hufflepuff thing. Here we go again.”

Alex drops herself unceremoniously in the only chair that’s still available, getting her phone from her pocket and scrolling through Instagram in an attempt to drown out Kelley and Tobin’s arguing. She smiles down at some of the memes, tags Crystal in a particularly funny one, before going to the USWNT’s stories to get a glance at where she’s hoping to play someday.

“Kelley, I’m not implying anything! Come on. All I wanted to say was that _Prisoner of Azkaban_ is the best one.”

“Then why are we watching _Halfblood Prince_? Rose and Morgan also wanted to watch that one, so I’m clearly not the only person who loves it.”

“It’s not about whatever we are watching right now. I’m just saying, in general—okay, whatever. Chris, what do you think?”

At that, Alex glances up.

Christen hasn’t really said anything, has just been looking back and forth between Kelley and Tobin with an amused expression on her face. And now Tobin is looking back at her expectantly.

Christen shrugs. “I don’t know, I’ve never seen them.”

There’s a silence.

And all Alex can think is, _oh god_.

“You’ve…” Tobin sputters. “You’ve never… Wait, you’re saying that you’ve actually _never_ …” She doesn’t even seem able to get the words out of her mouth.

Christen grins. “Nope. Never. Didn’t read any of the books either.”

Now, usually, Tobin is quite a tactful person. She’s very empathetic, very understanding. It’s one of the things Alex actually likes most about her. Whatever the situation, usually Tobin—at least sober Tobin—has a pretty good sense for timing. For knowing when and when not to say certain things. To make sure all hell doesn’t break loose.

Apparently not tonight, though.

The silence stretches, and then Tobin blurts out, “Fuck, I can’t believe I made out with a girl who has never seen Harry Potter.”

And all Alex can think is, _oh god._

Before, indeed, all hell breaks loose.

:::

“You made out with Press? When did that even—”

“Wait, you made out with _Tobin_? Please tell me you were drunk—”

“Did you know about this, Kell? Did both of you already know about this?”

“I can’t believe you managed to hook Press! What the fuck, Tobin, looks like you’ve got some game left in you after all—”

“ _Guys_ —”

Everyone is screaming at the same time. Lindsey is hitting Tobin on her back, while Morgan is shaking Christen’s arm, trying to get her to confess already. “Is this true? Did you really make out with each other?”

“Look—” Christen says, finally cutting through. “In my defense, I didn’t know who she was, okay?”

Tobin’s eyebrows shoots up. “You’re saying you wouldn’t have kissed me if you knew?”

Christen smirks back. “Who knows.”

“Because the way I recall it, you seemed pretty into—”

Before this conversation can get any more out of hand, Alex decides it’s the perfect time to try something out. Keeping her eyes on both of them, she says, “Anyway, now everything’s fine, right? You’re just friends, right?”

Christen doesn’t reply, is still only looking at Tobin, who shrugs with a smile. “Yeah, Press and I are friends.”

She flicks her gaze down to Christen’s lips, though, causing Christen to roll her eyes with half a smile, and Alex is noticing everything.

Lindsey is still laughing and shaking her head in disbelief. “Damn, Heath, I just can’t believe you managed to charm someone as beautiful as Press, even for one night. How did that happen?”

Christen grins. “I don’t know, I was pretty drunk.”

Alex feels like maybe she’s the only one who is paying attention to the way Tobin seems to shift forward, ready to call Christen out in front of everyone, ready to flirt right back, ready to admit that the whole thing _for sure_ wasn’t just something that happened because they were both drunk.

But…

Tobin wouldn’t ever admit such a thing.

And Alex is frowning, watching this play out in front of her.

_Huh,_ she thinks again. _Huh_.

But before she can fully entertain the thought, the door bell rings and it’s Mal and Emily, and Lindsey is already up and running to door, yelling, “Guess what we just found out.”

And maybe Tobin thinks that Alex will miss the look that passes between her and Christen, the sort of heated glance that no one else is a part of, but Alex doesn’t.

Now that she’s finally paying attention, she doesn’t miss anything.

:::

It’s the middle of the night, way, way, _way_ later, and Alex is half asleep, but she really needs to pee, so she stumbles through the hallway to the bathroom, when she hears soft voices coming from the couch.

“That’s Hagrid, he’s going to be Harry’s friend.”

“This giant? He’s going to befriend this little boy?”

“He’s only a _half_ giant, Chris—and the little boy’s name is Harry. Pay attention.”

Alex can’t really see them that well, but they’re sitting close to each other on the couch and this time they’re _both_ for sure wearing a Heath #17 hoodie, Tobin’s laptop in front of them on the table.

“What’s your Hogwarts house?” Alex hears Christen say. “Are you a Hufflepuff like Kell?”

Tobin scoffs. “First of all, you’re getting way ahead of yourself. They’re not even at Hogwarts yet. Second, you know about the houses but you can’t even remember Harry’s name? What is wrong with you?”

“I bet you’re a Hufflepuff.”

“He is the _main character,_ Chris. The series is even named after him. And I’m Gryffindor, actually. You’d really think I was Hufflepuff?”

“Too bad,” Christen says teasingly. “I’ve heard Gryffindor is full of assholes. I’m sure deep down you wish you could wear yellow Harry Potter merch.”

“Christen, I swear if you’re going to insult my house—”

“You’ll what? Use your wand on me?”

Alex moves into the bathroom, not really wanting to hear the rest of this conversation.

She’s figuring it out, though.

She’s pretty sure she’s finally figuring out just exactly what is going on here. 

:::

When she wakes up the next morning, Tobin and Christen are both fast asleep on the couch, despite the fact that Tobin actually has a bedroom _in this house_.

The third Harry Potter movie—or at least what Alex thinks is the third one, she’s never really paid attention—is still playing on Tobin’s laptop.

:::

Later, way later, Alex will say that she is the one who figured it out first.

Now, though…

Now it’s time to put her newfound theory to the test.


	2. II.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: 
> 
> Did I write an additional 7000 words in the past 24 hours? Yes, I did. Did I make Alex Morgen the true captain of this ship? Maybe…
> 
> This fic got a little out of hand, so we’re getting an extra chapter.

“I have a theory.”

“Hm?”

“Kell, are you even listening to me?”

“Yeah, yeah,” Kelley says. “I’m paying attention. I’m listening.”

Alex knows for a fact that Kelley, who is half asleep over her study notes and sipping her coffee like her life depends on it, is _not_ listening. But whatever. Alex’ll make her.

“It’s going to be Christen.”

At that, Kelley looks up, frowning. “What?”

“The girl,” Alex says. “It’s going to be Christen.”

Kelley looks very confused for a second, but then sighs. “Alex, once again, you’re not making any sense. Are those lab reports getting the best of you? Do we need to take a break?”

“ _You_ need to take a break. Kelley, come on,” Alex presses on. “The _girl_. We’ve talked about this. The one that’s going to make the difference. Break Tobin’s pattern, or whatever you were calling it. It’s going to be Christen. I’m sure of it.”

Kelley is silent for a few seconds, and then she says, “Wait, what? Christen Press? _Our_ Christen?”

Alex really needs to find some friends who are up at her level.

“No, the other Christen Press,” she says flatly, and then she rushes out in a single breath, “Kelley, the point is that I’ve been paying attention and I’m telling you now, something is going to happen, and it’s going to happen with Christen, and there’s no way anyone of us is ever going to be able to stop it anymore, because in fact, it _is_ already happening.”

Kelley blinks. “I’m still not sure exactly what you’re trying to say here.”

 _Focus,_ Alex wants to yell.

But she’s a good friend, so she takes a few deep breaths. “Okay, how about this? Remember last year, when we were at that bar East off campus, and you were the one who said that it would take someone really special to make Tobin lose her whole cool-girl-who-doesn’t-date-and-only-cares-about-soccer attitude?” Kelly nods, slowly. “I think that girl is Christen.”

At that, Kelley starts laughing. “Christen and Tobin? They’re just friends.”

“ _No_ ,” Alex says, trying to stop herself from raising her voice, because they’re still in public, but barely managing. “See—that’s what they _want_ us to think.” 

Kelley is looking at her like she’s lost her mind.

“Take this,” Alex says. She drops a notebook open between them, tapping her pen down on the page. “Evidence.”

“You made a _list_? Alex—”

“First,” Alex says, ignoring Kelley’s horrified expression. “They make out at that one party, beginning of the year.”

“Yeah, but they—”

“They don’t even sleep together, exactly!” Alex cuts in. “I knew you would say that.” 

“Actually, I was going to say that they didn’t even know each other, but—”

“They don’t sleep together,” Alex says, unfazed. “Which, is _very_ uncharacteristic for Tobin Heath, as we know.”

Kelley sighs. “Okay…”

“Then,” Alex says, pointing down at the paper again. “What a surprise—they’re on the same soccer team. But instead of going down on each other in the locker room showers after the first practice session—” Kelley makes a strangled sort of noise. “Which, is what we would expect from Tobin. Instead of that, they _talk_. They have a mature conversation and decide that it’s the smarter decision to ignore whatever gay tension they have between them—” Kelley groans. “And when has Tobin ever made a smart decision? My point exactly.”

“Alex…” Kelley is looking very unconvinced. “Maybe they just wanted to be friends.”

“Next,” Alex says, powering through, with or without support from her best friend. “Tobin becomes _soft_. Letting Christen cheer her up after shitty games, letting her wear her hoodie, always overly aware of whatever Christen is doing. She even makes her coffee, Kell! Has she ever made you coffee? Has she ever made me coffee? No!” Alex taps her pen harder against the page. “Tobin only ever makes _herself_ coffee.” She raises her eyebrows. “But somehow Christen is in possession of all the thermos bottles that were once in our kitchen. Gosh, I wonder who gave them to her…”

Kelley is leaning back in her chair, narrowing her eyes at the notebook between them. 

“And then,” Alex says, “To top things off, last night, I find them on the couch, watching Harry Potter and chatting each other’s ears off about the plot while I’m just trying to use the bathroom in peace.”

Kelley exhales hard. “So? Tobin loves Harry Potter. She loves watching it.”

Alex smirks. “No, Kell, she loves watching Harry Potter _alone_. Without anyone commenting on her precious little fandom.” Kelley stays silent, and Alex states, very proudly, “She’s breaking her patterns! All of them! I’m telling you, she’s going to fall in love with Christen!”

Kelley’s eyes widen dramatically. “Okay, now you’re taking it _really_ far.”

Alex sighs hard.

She needs to find other friends.

Once Kelley is genuinely unconvinced of something, it takes a _lot_ to change her mind.

Unless… “For how much money do you want to bet?”

:::

With a hundred dollars on the line, it’s time Alex starts playing the game for real.

:::

Lindsey’s house is throwing a Halloween party.

Alex—uninspired—is dressed as a scary nurse, which in all honesty, is purely the result of Mal and Crystal’s insistent pressure on the fact that Alex really does not like Halloween very much. She’s not a big fan of costumes. She’s not a big fan of drunk frat boys. But Mal and Crystal had gotten her the costume and told her to put it on, and, to be honest, she didn’t exactly have a choice to begin with.

The whole team is going, so Alex will go.

She loves her team, and she’s here—and so far, it’s not exactly terrible.

The music is good; people are actually dancing. Kelley and Tobin, both dressed in matching Captain Marvel suits, because they’re nerds, are playing beer pong with two of Lindsey’s housemates. The rest of the team is either hanging out with each other or somewhere off flirting with unsuspecting strangers. Alex is having a pretty good time.

She’s chatting with Mallory in the corner of the living room, when Tobin makes her way over to them.

“Did you win?” Mal asks.

Tobin shakes her head. “But we’ll do a re-match in a minute. Want to join?”

Mal shakes her head, and Alex—slightly too tipsy but thinking about the hundred dollars that Kelley will owe her—cuts in before Tobin can ask her the same question. “Why don’t you play with Christen?” 

Tobin shrugs. “I haven’t seen her, actually.”

“Oh, yeah, she just texted me that she’s on her way,” Kelley says, joining in and swinging her arm over Alex’s shoulder. “She had a last minute costume change or something.”

Tobin grins at Alex. “Want to join me, Al? I know you’re a secret beer pong champion.”

Alex sighs, but let’s herself be pulled towards the table, anyway.

She _is_ really good at beer pong.

:::

“But Portland vs. Utah, though! That’ll be such a good game! We should at least try to get tickets, so that—”

Tobin’s breath hitches.

It takes Alex a second to realize that she stopped talking mid-sentence, but then she follows Tobin’s gaze to the other side of the room, and suddenly the abrupt cut-off makes sense.

Christen is by the door, hugging Morgan and Emily as she makes her way into the house.

Her costume can barely be called a costume; just black jeans and a white fitted shirt, buttoned all the way up. She’s wearing a weird-looking red and gold tie around her neck, though, and some sort of… cloak? Her hair is tied back in a high ponytail, and now that Alex is looking closer, she notices that Christen’s got round-rimmed glasses balancing on the bridge of her nose. There’s a mark on her forehead and—

Oh my god.

It finally clicks.

Christen Press dressing up as Harry Potter has got to be the _nerdiest_ thing Alex has ever seen.

She’s about to turn to Tobin to comment on it, but the look in Tobin’s eyes makes her stop whatever she was about to say.

_Oh, Jesus._

It’s not even a _sexy_ Harry Potter costume. It’s just a Harry Potter costume. It’s a white button-up and a _cloak_ for God’s sake. But somehow Tobin is looking absolutely flustered at the sight, and Alex could have known. She could have known.

Those hundred dollars are hers. 

“Hm,” Alex says teasingly. “Looks like Christen’s here. All dressed up.”

She has to bite down on her bottom lip to stop herself from adding _For you_. But she gets the feeling that Tobin is well aware of the reasoning behind Christen’s choices. A slow grin is beginning to play around Tobin’s mouth, and her shoulders straighten a bit.

And then she says, “I’m going to say hello,” and leaves Alex just standing there.

At the sight of Tobin approaching, Christen lights up. She wraps her arms around Tobin’s neck for a second, says a couple of things that Alex can’t hear and then lets her gaze go up and down Tobin’s Captain Marvel suit.

When Emily waves Alex over, she follows Tobin to the rest of the group, just in time to make out Christen’s laugh and the way she says, “Captain Marvel has way better abs than you, though.”

Tobin scoffs, then says, “You want to check that out, Chris? Just to be sure?”

 _Okay_.

Alex does _not_ need to hear all of their dumb flirting. She focuses on whatever Emily is saying, and tries to ignore how she can see Tobin playing with Christen’s tie, tugging it lightly.

“—wearing my house colors, huh?”

“—I’m just in character.”

God.

They’re all smirks and arched eyebrows, and Alex is looking over at Kelley, to see if she realizes what is happening, like _right in front of them_. But Kelley has dragged Mal to the dance floor and is not seeing anything.

Alex watches Christen’s fingers drift lightly over Tobin’s hips, the way they’re all up in each other’s space.

But then, she lets Emily pull her to the dancefloor, too, and decides that, there’s really no rush to get her hundred bucks.

Everything will be proven in time.

:::

The next morning, Alex finds Tobin sitting at the table in sweatpants and a white Nike tee. She’s scrolling through her phone, and also happens to be wearing Christen’s red and gold Gryffindor tie around her neck.

Alex shakes her head. “Did you steal that off her?”

Tobin grins. “Nah, she gave it to me as a prize for beating her at cards.”

“How nice.”

Tobin smiles, doesn’t really look up from her phone, but says, “Yeah, she looked pretty great, don’t you think? Like, really cool.”

Alex doesn’t think that anyone dressed in a Harry Potter costume can be described as _really cool,_ not even Christen Press, but she’ll let Tobin have it.

“Want some coffee?” she says instead, trying to fight her smile.

:::

They win an away game against UC Berkeley, and they celebrate by playing truth or dare in Kelley and Christen’s hotel room—because they’re all still in middle school, apparently.

The whole team is spread out over the beds. Alex is leaning against Lindsey’s shoulder, with Kelley on her other side.

So far, most of the game has been relatively tame.

Mal was dared by Crystal to go to some guy’s Instagram page and like every single post from the past year. Emily has already confessed how many people she’s slept with. And Kelley had to tell her _fuck, marry, kills_ for all of the girls on the UC Berkeley team they played today.

Nothing really crazy, though.

But now it’s Christen’s turn, and of course—of course—she picks Tobin.

And Tobin’s smile changes just that tiny little bit, as she looks over at Christen for a long moment, before saying, almost like it’s a challenge, “Truth.”

Christen smiles. “Who was your best kiss?”

Alex huffs at how _obvious_ that is. But apart from her, the rest of the team does not seem to catch on.

Emily bursts out laughing. “As if Heath can even remember all the people she’s made out with.”

“Yeah, which one of the twenty thousand broken-hearted girls all over the United States should she pick?” Kelley adds with a grin.

Christen hasn’t taken her eyes off Tobin’s for even a second. “Answer the question, Tobin.”

Tobin shifts on the bed. “Can’t,” she says with a smirk. “Didn’t know her name at the time. But I sure remember everything else.”

Alex wants to roll her eyes. She nudges her knee against Kelley’s, trying to say _are you hearing this_ , but Kelley ignores her, is already yelling, “Whatever. It’s a boring question, anyway. Next!”

From then on, the game takes a little bit of a turn, though.

Rose gets asked to confess who she’d kiss in the room if she had to, and Alex is more than a little flattered when Rose finally finds the courage to mumble out Alex’s name. Kelley has to take a body shot off of Morgan, and then dares Tobin to take an ice cold shower for two minutes, which ends up with Tobin stripped down to her underwear, shivering in a towel on the bed, saying she’s done with playing the game.

She’s flexing her abs, though—like, very obviously—and Christen is _staring_ , and Alex is going to lose her mind if they keep this up for the entire night.

And then, to take things from bad to worse, Emily asks Christen, “What’s the most public place you’ve ever masturbated?”

There’s a chorus of _oohs_ that echoes through the room. Tobin, who said she was done playing is suddenly leaning forward, all interested again. Alex narrows her eyes.

“Mm…” Christen says with a grin. “I don’t know if I can tell.”

“Come on!”

“Part of the game, Press.”

Christen takes another second, but then she admits, with a bit of a smile, “Locker room shower.”

Immediately, everyone is screaming at the same time— _What? That’s kinda kinky, Press! When did this happen? What the hell even turned you on during soccer practice?—_ and Christen’s holding up her hands, defensively. “You got your answer, I’m not saying anything else.”

Alex glances over at Tobin.

She’s got a dark sort of focused look in her eyes, and Alex does _not_ want know whatever is on Tobin’s mind right now.

Instead, she says to Kelley, “See?”

Kelley just laughs. “Sure, Al—they’re madly in love with each other. Whatever you say.”

:::

A few weeks later, the thought crosses Alex’s mind that she could always just ask Tobin.

It’s a little forward, maybe, but it’s not like Tobin gets shy about these sort of things, so Alex decides to just go with it.

They’re all in the apartment one Wednesday night, the three of them—Kelley, Tobin and Alex—and they’re watching some nature documentary that Kelley has been obsessing about for the past month or so.

It’s really boring, though.

Alex has been trying to pay attention, but Tobin keeps smirking at her phone, and it’s not like Alex doesn’t know who she’s texting.

Kelley, as always, isn’t aware of anything.

“Who are you texting?” Alex says, after the third time that Tobin has bitten down on her bottom lip, before typing something back.

“Hm?” Tobin doesn’t look up.

“Who are you texting?” Alex repeats.

“Oh—just Christen.”

Alex tries to give Kelley a look, but Kelley is watching the documentary like she hasn’t even heard—and suddenly, Alex has had enough.

“What’s the deal with you and Christen, anyway?”

At that, Kelley makes a startled noise and Tobin finally looks up. “What? What do you mean?”

“You and Christen,” Alex says. “What’s the deal?”

Tobin looks a little uncomfortable, reaching for her bottle of water that is on the table in front of them. “Uh—there is no deal.”

“No?” Alex presses on. “Because it seems like you’ve gotten really close, lately. And it’s pretty obvious that you’re into each other—” Kelley gasps and Tobin actually chokes on her water. Alex pretends she doesn’t notice. “So, I was just wondering, what the deal is.”

“ _Alex_.” Tobin is coughing so much that she turns red. “What—there’s—we’re not into each other.”

From behind Tobin, Kelley is shaking her head at Alex, all wide-eyed and freaking out. But Alex feels like she’s onto something. She _knows_ she’s onto something.

“Hm,” she says. “I remember a night when you said she was the ‘prettiest girl you’d ever seen’, though.”

“Yeah, well…” Tobin tries to take another sip of water, then stutters out, “That was—that was before. We’re—there’s nothing—we’re just friends.”

“When’s the last time you had sex with someone?”

“Alex!” Kelley cuts in. 

And okay, maybe she is taking this a little bit far, but Alex just can’t stand that both of her friends are acting like it’s outrageous she’s even suggesting it.

Tobin recovers, though. Fires back, “When’s the last time _you_ had sex with someone?”

Hm. Good point.

Alex exhales slowly. “Okay. Never mind.” She tries for a smile. “If you say it’s nothing, it’s nothing. I believe you.”

She doesn’t.

But she does hate the fact that Tobin seems genuinely thrown-off by her questions.

Maybe Alex _is_ pushing it a bit too much. Maybe Tobin _isn’t_ actually aware of the way she’s behaving around Christen. Or maybe she’s scared to admit it.

“Just so you know,” Alex says, softening a bit at the realization. “I think Press is amazing.”

Tobin nods slowly. “Yeah, she is. But—”

“No, I got it. I was wrong.” Alex nudges her shoulder against Tobin’s. “Sorry.”

“No problem,” Tobin says.

She turns back to her phone after a moment, and Kelley visibly relaxes again. But Alex isn’t stupid. She can _feel_ the way that Tobin’s mind is racing, the way her arms have gone all tense.

 _Good_ , Alex thinks to herself. _Spend some time contemplating that, Heath._

:::

It’s around December that Kelley, finally, begins to come around.

Alex is in her room, trying to get some last minute studying in before her final test tomorrow morning, when Kelley appears in the doorway. She’s already dressed for practice, with the exception of her cleats.

She’s also looking very confused. “Okay, maybe you’re a little bit right.”

“I’m always right,” Alex replies, automatically.

“Something weird is happening.”

Alex is busy trying to memorize polyatomic ions. “Hm?”

Kelley drops down on the bed bed. “It’s just that—well, Tobin has been on the phone for, like, the past hour. I can hear her talking in her room.”

Alex barely registers it. “Yeah, so?”

“She’s been on the phone with _Christen_ for, like, the past hour.”

Now, Alex looks up. “They’re literally seeing each other at practice in twenty minutes.”

“Exactly,” Kelley says. “And it’s not like they never speak to each other. Christen was here last night.”

Alex gives her a look. “Well, what are they talking about?”

“I don’t even know. It’s all just pointless banter about soccer games and Netflix series and God knows what else.” Kelley’s eyes narrow. “I just don’t know what to think.”

Alex turns back to her notes, smiling. “You might want to get those hundred bucks for me, Kell.” 

Kelley pushes her shoulder. “You wish. I don’t know. I just thought it was weird. They’re, like, all over each other, all the time.”

“Gosh,” Alex mumbles sarcastically. “It’s not like anyone has told you this before.”

Kelley picks a soccer ball up from the floor and kicks it up. “But Tobin, though? I mean, when has she ever genuinely been interested in a girl?”

“This has been my point for weeks,” Alex says. “Just watch, once you notice, you’re not able to see anything else. It’s quite annoying actually.”

Kelley hums. “You only get your money when it’s confirmed, though.”

Alex shrugs. “Fine.”

It’ll happen.

She’s sure.

:::

On New Year’s Eve, the girls from the team who are already back on campus after spending Christmas with their families, get together at Alex, Tobin and Kelley’s place to celebrate.

Seeing them all together—laughing and talking, all these girls that always have her back, during each and every match—makes Alex feel weirdly emotional.

Kelley slides up next to her when she’s in the kitchen, taking another bottle of wine from the cupboard. “Last semester coming up.”

Alex nods slowly. “Think you’ll miss it?” she says then. “Hanging out after practice, playing games, just being here with everybody?”

Kelley knows what she’s really saying, knows that it’s not really a question, more of a confession.

She wraps her arms around Alex and says, “Nah, I’m sure we’ll have even more fun once we’re on the USWNT together.”

Alex smiles, swallowing past the tight feeling at the bottom of her throat.

Kelley grins, presses a kiss to Alex’s cheek, before pulling her back into the apartment, where Mallory and Rose are playing cards and Crystal is fiddling with the Spotify playlist, arguing with Lindsey about the next song.

At eleven minutes to midnight, Emily accidentally kicks a soccer ball against Alex’s wine glass—because the night is not complete without a bit of inside soccer and someone spilling a drink on someone else—and even though this shirt is her favorite shirt, Alex figures there’s more than enough time to change into a new top.

In the hallway, she pauses though, distracted by the sound of voices coming from Tobin’s room.

The door is half-open, but Alex doesn’t even need to look to know who Tobin is talking to.

“Chris, you can’t—”

“I’ve got this.”

Tobin laughs. “I hate to break it to you, but you really, _really_ don’t.”

“Do I look like someone who is unable to pull herself up through a window? I play soccer, you know.”

“Yeah, but your biceps aren’t—”

“I’m going to kick you off this roof if you finish that sentence.”

Alex can hear the _smugness_ in Tobin’s voice when she says, “I was just saying, you’ve got better assets than your biceps. It’s a compliment, Chris.”

Alex tries not to gag. These two really need some guidance in flirting.

They’re, also, apparently, trying to climb up on Tobin’s roof through the skylight, which is something that Alex and Kelley have done multiple times with Tobin—but should generally not be attempted whilst intoxicated and trying to impress a girl you’re interested in.

“I’ll pull you up,” she can hear Tobin say.

Christen scoffs. “I can do it—”

But then there’s a bit of noise—what sounds like someone kicking a chair over, a pained groan like someone’s elbow gets jammed into someone’s ribcage or something—and then, their voices sound fainter, further away.

“Sorry,” Alex hears Christen say. “You good?”

“I don’t know, you might have to kiss it better,” Tobin says.

Alex bites her lip, trying not to groan in frustration.

_Jesus._

Of course, any normal friend would have left already. She knows for sure that people like Rose or Crystal would not keep standing outside Tobin’s door for this long. Hell, even Kelley would probably just have shrugged it off and changed her wine-stained top like she’s supposed to.

And to be honest, it’s not like she _wants_ to watch them kiss.

Ew.

But—

She’s got money on the line.

And Christen says, “I was actually thinking of kissing someone else at midnight—you know, New Year’s tradition and all that.”

Tobin huffs. “And yet, you’re on this roof with me.”

“I’m here for the fireworks, Heath.”

“You wouldn’t, anyway.”

“Wouldn’t what?”

“Kiss someone else.”

“No?” Alex can picture the exact look on Christen’s face; the same one she gets when she sees an opportunity on the field for a great play; when the goal is wide open in front of her. “I’ve always thought Mal would be a good kisser.”

“ _Mallory_?” Tobin sounds appalled. “Mal is a _freshman_. Mal is a child.”

“Oh, you have a different suggestion?”

“Christen…”

Alex takes a slightest step closer, just an inch or so towards the door. And then, suddenly, someone—Lindsey—bumps into her from behind.

“Jesus, Alex!” she snaps. “Why are you standing all alone in the dark out here, all creepy like that?”

Alex snaps out of it. “Nothing, nothing. Just needed to change my shirt.”

Lindsey gives her a weird look, but then shrugs. “Okay, but hurry up, it’s almost midnight.” 

Alex changes into a different top quickly, runs back through the hallway without bothering to stop at Tobin’s room, and then positions herself on the couch between Kelley and Crystal—ready to kick the new year off in style.

There’s champagne and music and before she knows it, there’s a chorus of “ _Ten… nine.. eight…_ ” echoing through the apartment.

Alex can’t believe all these idiots are her best friends.

“ _Seven… six… five…”_

Kelley is jumping up and down next to her.

“ _Four… three… two…_ ”

Here we go, Alex thinks.

“ _ONE!_ ”

Everyone is screaming, hugging each other and popping bottles of champagne. Outside, the fireworks are beginning to go off, and Emily is pulling Alex off the couch and hugging her, screaming, “It’s going to be our year!”

She’s laughing and hugging the girls, and then Kelley is right in front of her, wrapping her arms around Alex’s neck, and yelling, “I pick you!” which doesn’t make any sense until Kelley suddenly charges forward and kisses Alex full on the mouth.

It’s only for about two seconds, and Alex is too surprised to respond properly.

Her eyes flutter closed, and Kelley’s lips taste of cheap champagne.

Then, Kelley’s pulling back and turning to the rest of the team, screaming, “I got Alex!”

Alex laughs.

_These fucking idiots._

Happy New Year.

:::

A little later—when Alex is a lot more tipsy than before—Tobin’s suddenly right in front of her, appearing out of nowhere and hugging her hard.

She grins and says, “Happy New Year! May the next twelve months see both of us score many, many goals, and me continuing to beat you at Mario Kart.”

Alex smirks. “We both know I am better at Mario Kart.”

Tobin grins back. There’s something about the way she looks right now—Alex can’t quite place it—but it’s all confident, a little smug even, with her hair a little tousled and her clothes kind of cold, like she only just climbed back through that window about a minute ago, her lips red—

Alex’s eyes go wide.

Tobin’s lips are stained with lipstick and Tobin _never_ wears lipstick—

And Alex is pretty sure that the only person who can pull off that shade of red is—

“ _Hey_!” she says, but Tobin is already moving past her, running over to Kelley, and Rose and Mal are pulling on Alex’s arms, trying to get her to join their little inside soccer match. 

_Fuck_ , Alex thinks to herself as she moves through the crowd. _They kissed._

They actually kissed.

:::

Alex finds Christen on the couch a little bit later. She drops down next to her, clinking her glass against Christen’s with a soft little “Cheers, Press” before examining the rest of the evidence; Christen’s hair is wind-swept and messy, she’s wearing a white t-shirt that for _sure_ belongs to Tobin, and her mouth is lipstick-red.

“Your lipstick is a little smudged,” Alex says, reaching over and brushing it away with the pad of her thumb. “Right here.”

“Oh, thanks,” Christen says, a little breezily.

“No problem,” Alex says.

She smiles and Christen smiles back—and it’s the first hour of the New Year and Alex is absolutely goddamn certain that her best friend and roommate is going to fall head over heels in love with the girl sitting in front of Alex right now, whether she realizes it or not. 

:::

They’re so dumb, Alex thinks.

They’re both _so_ dumb.

Somehow, in true drunk Tobin Heath style, when all the fireworks outside have stopped and none of them are even remotely sober anymore, Tobin suggests playing ‘spin the bottle’, to which Christen agrees a little too quickly.

It’s the poorest attempt at a cover up that Alex has ever seen.

They might have everyone else fooled into thinking that they’re just friends. That none of this means anything, that they’re just messing around, playing games like this for fun.

They might have _themselves_ fooled into thinking that they’re just friends. Friends who are totally fine with playing it off like this. Who are so _cool_ with pecking their other teammates on the mouth—like they didn’t just fully make out on Tobin’s rooftop—but Alex isn’t stupid. 

Christen kisses Mal, and Emily kisses Morgan, and Kelley kisses Tobin.

And then Tobin kisses Christen—again—her hand at the back of Christen’s neck, thumb on Christen’s jaw, seconds and seconds and seconds longer than anyone else.

Alex rolls her eyes, decides not to play along.

“No,” she says, when Tobin tries to make a move on her later. “Safe that for Press.”

“You’re no fun,” Tobin says, so clearly drunk. She leans back against the wall, looking over at the other side of the living room, where Christen is now dancing with Kelley and Lindsey. And then she adds very softly, like an afterthought, like she’s not fully realizing what she’s admitting, “Want to kiss her, Alex… Like, _just_ her.”

Alex swallows.

“I know,” she says. “I know you do.”

Tobin’s not going to remember this in the morning.

Alex reaches her hand out and squeezes Tobin’s for a second, watches the way Tobin is looking at Christen—like she’s never seen anyone this great.

Alex sighs. She’s not going to remember any of this in the morning.

:::

It’s the end of January, when things take a turn for the worst.

Alex is surprised it actually took this long.

They’re having dinner at _Lorenzo’s_ after their Friday training session. The girls are questioning Mallory on the cute guy who works at the Starbucks on campus and seems to have a little bit of a thing for Mal, and after about ten minutes Mal seems to have had enough because she says, “Stop attacking me! Press is the one who has a date tomorrow.”

Of course, that causes a shift in the conversation.

Christen groans. “Mal…”

“A date?” Kelley cuts in. “What? When did this happen? Who are you dating?”

“It’s not a _date_ ,” Christen says. “It’s just—it’s Jesse, that guy from my International Economics class. We had to do a project together, and last week, I mentioned that I hadn’t seen the new Jordan Peele movie yet, so now we’re seeing it. It’s not a date, he just really likes movies.”

“He really likes movies…” Emily says, narrowing her eyes. “Press, this sounds like a date.”

“No, but—”

“Is he cute?”

Christen sputters. “I mean—I guess. But, guys, really… it’s not—”

“Press has a date.” Lindsey grins triumphantly. “This is a full on date.”

Alex watches the entire exchange with a weird feeling in the center of her chest. She doesn’t want to be too obvious about it, but she can’t help but glance over at Tobin.

Tobin’s face is neutral. She’s in the corner of the booth, sort of slumped against the wall, watching the conversation play out, not saying anything, just picking at her food a little bit.

“You like Jordan Peele, right?” Kelley asks Tobin, then, and for a second—a second that no one else but Alex catches—Christen glances over.

“Yeah, he’s cool,” Tobin says. 

Christen doesn’t say anything. Emily is tapping her arm, asking her to show this guy’s social media, and Alex has still got her eyes on Tobin, who is now talking to Kelley about some movie. 

She seems… fine.

But still, Alex can’t help but feel a little tense.

She doesn’t realize she’s staring, until Tobin’s eyes land on her.

“What?” she says. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Nothing,” Alex says, quickly. “Just spaced out for a sec.”

Tobin nods, then continues the conversation like it’s nothing.

This is going to be something, though. Alex can feel it.

:::

Christen has her date and it’s fun enough, apparently, because the next week, she’s not there at Friday’s team dinner. Tobin’s acting like she barely even notices—laughing with Morgan, talking soccer with Kell.

But then, Christen skips out on Saturday’s movie night, too, and Tobin’s act kind of falters.

On Sunday, they’re playing Stanford, and Christen is late. 

“Where’s Press?” Kelley asks, pulling her socks up over her shin pads.

“Who has my water bottle?” Tobin says.

Lindsey grins. “Press is still in bed with Jesse, probably.”

“Seriously, who the fuck has my water bottle?” Tobin snaps. She throws her soccer bag on the ground, kicking it hard. “It was right here.” 

“Did you see those pictures on his Instagram? He’s really _ripped—_ ”

“ _Jesus Christ_!” Tobin cuts in, kicking her bag again. “Why is no one answering my question?”

Alex hurries to hand her own bottle over. “Here, take mine.”

“No, I don’t want yours.” Tobin bites out. “I just want my own fucking water bottle which I put right here, and I would really appreciate it if all of you would stop screaming right next to my head already and get fucking ready for the game.”

There’s a bit of a shocked silence, and then the door opens.

“Sorry, sorry! I know I’m late, but I’m already changed!” Christen rushes out, walking into the locker room. “Tobin, I found your water bottle on the field, you must have left—” She falls silent, looking at everybody. “What is going on?”

“ _Nothing_ ,” Tobin snaps, striding forward and snatching the bottle from Christen’s outstretched hand. “Way to be professional, Press.”

She slams the door closed behind her.

Christen’s eyes are wide. “What— Did I…”

Alex is going to murder Tobin later.

“No,” she says, stepping forward and grabbing Christen’s arm. “You’re fine, Chris. She just didn’t sleep well.”

Christen looks more hurt than Alex can handle.

“Come on,” she says to Christen. “Let’s show your old team how much it sucks for them that you transferred.”

:::

Fifteen minutes into the game, and Alex is changing her mind on the “later” thing, opting instead for killing Tobin as soon as this hell of a match is over. 

She’s being absolutely _insufferable_ —playing reckless and without any concentration, fouling left and right, and very obviously not passing the ball to Christen. 

“What the hell is going on with you?” Alex snaps at Tobin, when she loses the ball once again. “You’re being selfish.”

Tobin just scoffs, refuses to listen.

From there on, everything just goes downhill.

Stanford is good. They’re hard on the attack, seamlessly working together. They score in the 21st minute and then again in the 33rd, and Alex—

Alex is starting to see red with the way Tobin is fucking everything up.

“ _Listen—_ ” she bites out, grabbing Tobin’s arm. “I don’t know what the hell you think you’re doing with this whole jealousy act, but if it makes us lose this game, I’m killing you. Pass the fucking ball to Press.”

Tobin gives Alex the angriest of glares. “Don’t tell me what to do.”

She runs back to the other side.

They’re only a minute or so before halftime, now, and the score is 2-0 against. There’s a bit of a struggle for the ball in front of their own goal—the Stanford #10 plays really aggressively—but then Morgan manages to snatch it away. She’s already running into the open space. Alex sprints and sprints, watches Morgan pass it to Crystal, who gets it to Tobin, and Tobin just _takes off_ —

She fights her way past four Stanford players, and Alex can see Christen running up, making the long line towards goal.

All Tobin needs to do is—

She doesn’t pass, and Stanford takes the ball back, clears it easily.

The ref whistles for half time, and Alex screams in frustration.

That was their _one_ chance.

But then, something even worse happens, because Christen—cool and collected Christen, who always has her head in the game and seems to understand that soccer should be about soccer and not about whatever else is going on in your personal life; Christen, who has gritted her teeth and not complained for the entire forty-five minutes of this game so far—Christen loses it.

She’s in front of Tobin in an instant.

From the corner of her eye, Alex can see Kelley running up to them, but then all of her attention is snatched away to Christen biting out, “I was right in front of the goal! What is up with you today?”

Her voice is all hurt and uneven, and Tobin is trying to push past her, but Christen pushes right back, her fists connecting hard with Tobin’s shoulders. “No, tell me!”

Alex can’t hear what Tobin replies, because she’s got her back to Alex, but the way Christen’s face falls is enough to make Alex’s blood run cold.

_Jesus._

“Is that what this is about?” Christen chokes out. “You’re being like this, because I… Because I’m—” 

Again, Tobin tries to move past her, but Christen’s eyes flash.

“No— _fuck you_ ,” she snaps, her hand clenched on the sleeve of Tobin’s shirt. “You don’t get to say that to me.”

She looks like she wants to say a whole lot of things, but before she gets the chance, Coach is pulling them apart and ordering them to the locker room.

Alex makes her way across the field in a sort of haze.

When they’re back in the locker room, Christen’s bottom lip is trembling, and Tobin is staring at the floor, not daring to look anyone directly in the eyes. She kicks a ball back and forth between her feet, but Coach snatches it away the second she walks into the locker room.

“Listen up, _right now_ —” she starts.

Alex barely hears a word from Coach’s reprimanding speech. She’s harder on Tobin than she’s ever been before—but it seems like everyone more or less agrees with the message.

The one thing Alex does pick up on is that Coach tells Tobin that she’ll bench her, if she keeps pulling stunts like this.

That seems to shock Tobin a little bit, and Alex thinks _good for her._

With a few minutes left to drink water and get their head in the game, Alex sides up next to Kelley. “Jesus, did you see that?” 

Kelley nods. “They better make things right for the second half.”

“I’m not counting on it.”

But as they’re making their way onto the field again, Alex watches Tobin make at least some sort of attempt.

“Chris, I’m—”

She puts her hand on Christen’s arm.

Christen’s eyes are dark. “Just pass me the fucking ball.”

She runs away before Tobin has the chance to fully apologize, but at least Christen seems fired up, ready to postpone whatever fight they’re inevitably going to have, at least until after the game, and just _play_.

And of course it pays off.

Fueled entirely by anger, Christen makes two goals in the first fifteen minutes of the second half, flipping the entire game upside down.

With half an hour left on the clock and a sudden tie, Stanford looks like they don’t quite know what just hit them.

There’s a rush of sudden confidence in Alex’s veins.

They’ve got this. Whatever disaster that first half was, they’re playing as a team again—and this is where they’re at their best; with the victory in reach, but not yet there. She passes quick and fast, all sharp touches and long sprints. Tobin seems to have finally come around, and Christen…

Christen is on fire.

Until—

She’s at the right side of the field, sprinting towards the box. Crystal passes perfectly; the ball soaring through the air, aimed at the inside of Christen’s foot, when, out of nowhere—

The Stanford #10 jumps and kicks her right against the head.

Christen drops to the ground and doesn’t move.

Immediately, there is chaos all around. Kelley is screaming, the ref is running over, Alex’s whole body goes cold as she watches Christen lying motionless on the field, and Tobin is already pushing about five Stanford players out of the way to get there. 

Then, Alex is running—

And then she’s on her knees, right next to Christen’s body.

“Chris,” Tobin is saying, her voice strained with desperation. “Chris, look at me. Please… Please, just—”

The medical team is already sprinting onto the field and Tobin’s hand is on Christen’s knee. She’s gone all pale and shaky, looks like she’s about to pass out.

“ _Christen._ ”

And then Christen drags her arms up to her head.

“I’m fine,” Alex hears her say. “Tobin, I’m—it’s fine…”

But she doesn’t sound fine.

She sounds like she can barely speak; her voice all pained and weak.

Alex’s heart is racing in her throat. The medical team makes its way through, telling the players to move out of the way, and Alex steps to the side, making space.

She drags Tobin, who hasn’t moved an inch from Christen’s side, with her off the ground. “Come on, Tobin, let them through.”

Mallory appears right next to her, looking more upset than Alex has ever seen her.

“It’s fine, Mal,” Alex hears herself say, putting a hand on the girl’s arm and wondering who she is trying to convince. “Really, it’s going to be fine. Don’t worry.”

There’s a bit of a commotion to her left, off to where the Stanford players are standing, refusing to move out of the way fast enough.

And then Alex hears the Stanford #10 say, “Oh, please, she’s totally faking it. Classic Press.” 

Anger surges through Alex’s body, hot and fast, and she’s already turning around—

—but Tobin snaps first.

In less than a second, she’s pulled herself free from Alex’s grip and she’s right up in the Stanford girl’s face. “What the _fuck_ did you just say _—_ ”

The girl folds her arms, unimpressed. “I said that your girlfriend is being dramatic.”

All Alex sees is the flash of Tobin’s arm through the air, and before anyone can do anything about it, Tobin’s fist has collided with the girl’s face. “How’s that for dramatic, you fucking bitch.”

_Fuck._

:::

Everything happens in a blur. The ref loses all of her cool, pulling red, first for Tobin, who is struggling as Alex tries to drag her away from the Stanford girl. Number 10 is clutching her nose, blood dripping on her cleats, everyone is screaming, both from their side and from Stanford’s side. The ref pulls another red, this time for the Stanford foul. Christen is carried off the field, and Mal is actually crying now—and Alex…

Alex feels like she’s going to black out.

:::

She doesn’t know how they even finish the game. Both with ten players left on the field, they tie at 2-2. It doesn’t matter.

None of it really matters.

They drive to the hospital in their soccer kits, and then they wait.

:::

Coach informs them soon enough that it’s only a mild concussion, and that Christen is going to be totally fine. She just had to go through check-ups. Standard procedure. After the doctors have cleared the way, they all tumble into the hospital room, the whole team.

Christen’s sitting up. She’s got a bandage on her forehead from where the Stanford girl’s cleat connected with her head, but apart from that she seems okay.

Everyone piles onto the bed and Christen smiles. “Please tell me we won the game at least.”

:::

They’re kicked out after half an hour, which causes a lot of protesting but the doctors insist. At least, the general mood is so much better. They’re all sweaty and gross, but Christen is going to be fine.

Right before she gets off the bed, Alex notices that Tobin’s hand is brushing against Christen’s on the mattress.

She has to bite back her smile.

_Idiots._

::: 

The aftermath of the game is surprisingly quiet.

Tobin apologizes to Alex for acting the way she did, and Alex admits that even though she can’t believe Tobin was stupid enough to actually _hit_ someone, the Stanford girl totally deserved it.

Things are pretty quiet. No arguments. No additional injuries.

What does happen, is a _moment_.

It’s early in the morning, and Alex makes her way into the kitchen to make coffee, when she’s surprised to find Tobin already up. She’s standing in front of the stove, dressed in shorts and a hoodie. It smells like pancakes.

“What are you doing?” Alex says, a little confused, because Kelley is the only person who makes an actual effort for breakfast sometimes.

“Making pancakes,” Tobin says, way too cheery for how early it is. “Recovery breakfast for Press.”

“ _Press_?”

Before Tobin can answer, Christen says, “Morning, Alex.”

She’s sitting on the couch, wearing what looks like a pair of Tobin’s sweatpants and a red t-shirt that rides a little up her stomach. She’s still got the bandage on her forehead.

“Morning…” Alex says, trying not to sound too suspicious, but _what the fuck_ , Christen must for sure have spent the night.

“You want some?” Tobin says.

Alex is still looking between the two of them, trying to figure out what the hell is going on here. Three days ago, they were full on fighting, and now Tobin is cutting strawberries into little parts and making _fresh_ orange juice for Christen, like this is the most normal thing in the world.

“No, thanks,” Alex finally says.

Tobin shrugs. “Suit yourself.”

She turns the stove off, grabs two plates and starts arranging the pancakes. Alex busies herself with making coffee, but gets distracted by the way Tobin drops herself down onto the couch next to Christen, handing her the plate.

“You’re feeling okay?” Alex can hear her say, and it’s all _soft_ and concerned, and Alex can feel her eyes go wide, because Tobin is never soft.

“I’m fine,” Christen says with a smile. “Stop worrying.”

They mumble a little bit between them, and Alex can’t really hear anything very clearly anymore, but then Tobin is laughing and saying, “Well, at least we’ll be benched together. Could be fun.”

“You’re never fun,” Christen says, way too fondly, before dipping her finger into the chocolate melting on her pancake, and dragging it teasingly over Tobin’s cheek.

Alex takes that as her cue to leave.

Making her way out of the kitchen, she’s pretty sure she catches Christen lick it off, though. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: 
> 
> I'm lowkey into the Kelley/Alex dynamic in this fic.
> 
> What do we think? Let me know all your thoughts in the comments! 
> 
> Also, I’m upping the rating of this fic for the next chapter, just thought you’d want to know ;)


	3. III.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: This accidentally became highkey Kelley/Alex. Sorry not sorry. I had so much fun writing this! Love reading all of your comments! Enjoy this last little bit of insanity.

Later, way later, Alex will say that she is the one who figured it out first.

Kelley will argue that they figured it out _together_.

:::

“Stop pushing me—”

“If you’d just move a tiny, little bit—”

“Kelley, they’re going to hear us.”

“Alex, I can’t see anything _—_ ”

In another life, Alex is certain she would never be this person. In another life, she would be poised and collected. She would study for her exams like she’s supposed to. She would focus on soccer and win all her games.

She would love her friends in a calm and unchaotic way. 

Not here.

Here, Alex is currently pressed against the side wall of the apartment’s balcony, trying to stay hidden behind the curtain, with Kelley’s breath hot against the back of her neck and her fingers digging hard into Alex’s hip, as they try to peek through the open doors into the living room.

In another life, Alex would never be spying on her best friend.

Here, she is currently watching Tobin try to beat Christen at Mario Kart, all shoulder nudges and teasing banter—and Alex is pressed up against Kelley trying to stay out of sight like her life depends on it.

“Why are we spying on them again?” she whispers, low under her breath.

“We’re not spying,” Kelley says. “We’re just looking. We were here first.” 

According to Kelley, they’re just looking.

According to Alex, they’re being absolutely _insane_.

“That doesn’t even make sense—”

“Look,” Kelley says, and her voice is so close to Alex’s ear that it makes Alex shiver for a second. “If you want your money, you’re going to need proof.”

Alex groans. “There’s more than enough proof already. Kell, are you not _seeing_ this?”

“I’m not, actually—you keep being in the way.”

Alex sighs hard, then takes the tiniest step forward to let Kelley get closer. Tobin and Christen are on the couch, both already changed for soccer practice later. There is barely any space between them, despite the fact that the rest of the apartment is empty. Alex can’t really see all that much, but she _does_ notice that Tobin seems to be wearing Christen’s #23 shorts instead of her own.

Alex resists the urge to roll her eyes at that.

Of course, she _has_ to be wearing Christen’s shorts. It’s not like she has a whole drawer full of her own.

“Stop fouling me with banana peels!” Tobin yells out, when Christen, once again, takes the lead.

Christen laughs. “This isn’t a soccer game, babe.”

Alex gasps.

She blindly reaches back, finds Kelley’s hand and squeezes hard. “Did you _hear_ what she just said?” When there’s no reply she taps Kelley’s wrist insistently. “Kell, did you hear—”

“Yeah, but—” Kelley says. “That’s not proof. I mean, people just say that, right?” She hesitates for half a moment, before adding, “I call you _babe_ sometimes.”

Alex pauses.

“You never call me babe,” she says, then, a little confused.

She’s sure she’d notice, if—

“ _Oh god,_ ” Kelley whispers suddenly, interrupting her thoughts. “Look at Tobin’s hand.”

Alex looks, then shakes her head in disbelief. “No wonder she’s losing. She’s not even trying, anymore.”

Tobin’s left hand, which she’d taken off the console to try and push Christen’s steering wheel, is now resting on Christen’s bare knee. Alex watches how she seems to lose interest in the game real quick, preferring instead to brush her fingers in slow circles over Christen’s leg.

“Hey,” Christen says. “Stop that…”

“Stop what?” Tobin says teasingly.

“Just because you’re in tenth place, doesn’t mean I— _hm_ …” Tobin’s hand inches higher and Christen’s voice goes slightly breathless. “That I—can afford to lose focus.”

Tobin smirks, eyes on Christen’s face, watching her intently as she—

“We can’t do this.” Alex whips around, turning to Kelley. “I don’t— _I’m not watching this_.”

Kelley whispers back, “I thought you said you wanted proof.”

Well, yeah, Alex thinks, but she doesn’t have to see _that_.

“Oh?” she can hear Tobin say. “Is this distracting you, Chris?”

There’s a few seconds of quiet, and then Christen’s voice suddenly goes hoarse as she breathes out, “ _Fuck_ …”

Alex jerks away from the open doors so abruptly that she stumbles right into Kelley, who, in turn collides with the breakfast table. There’s a second where everything seems to happen in slow motion, the table only _just_ tipping over, and then the whole thing clashes to the floor—plates and glasses, all their heavy biology books.

Kelley’s eyes are pure panic.

“What the hell—”

Next thing they know, Tobin is standing right in front of them, frowning hard. “What— how did— were you guys here the whole time?”

“No!” Alex says, quickly. “No, we just got here.”

Tobin stares at the table that is flipped upside down, what’s left of their breakfast all over the balcony. “Right…” Her eyes go back and forth between the two of them. “I didn’t hear you come in, though.”

“No…” Kelley says. “That is because…” She gives Alex a panicked look, before adding quickly, “Because we climbed.” 

_What_.

Christen appears right next to Tobin in the doorway.

“Hi, guys,” she says, her voice only slightly pitched. She is tugging on the hem of her shorts, though, running a hand through her hair like this is all perfectly normal.

Alex narrows her eyes at her. _Nice try, Press._

“You did what?” Tobin is asking Kelley.

Alex watches Kelley put a hand on her hip, watches her brace herself as she says, with as much confidence as she can, “We didn’t use the door. We climbed onto the balcony. For exercise.”

It’s the worst save that Alex has ever heard, but at the same time, she can’t help but smile a little at the determined look on Kelley’s face.

This is absolutely ridiculous.

“You climbed the balcony…” Tobin is saying slowly, like she’s not believing a single word they’re saying. “For exercise…”

“Yes,” Kelley says, before adding lightly, “What were you guys doing, anyway?”

Alex could kiss her.

Like, hypothetically.

But she could.

“Yeah, what were you guys doing, anyway?” she cuts in, watching the way Tobin gets slightly more uncomfortable. “And why are you wearing Press’s shorts?”

Kelley gives her the smallest nod from behind Tobin’s shoulder, mouths “Good one.”

Tobin is still looking back and forth between the two of them. Then, she glances over at Christen and says, with a bit of a smile, “I don’t know, I just like wearing them.” 

Christen smiles back, and Alex blinks a little confusingly, because she didn’t expect this to turn all honest and _cute_ all of a sudden.

“Hm, okay,” Kelley says. “Well, anyway.” She flips the table on its right side again. “This was a great conversation. I’ll clean this up later, no worries. Alex and I are going to get ready for practice.”

She grabs Alex’s arm and drags her through the open doors.

“Have fun playing!” Alex yells over her shoulder, making a vague gesture at the tv.

“The game,” Kelley adds, just before they turn the corner, and Alex wants to smack her.

Leave it up to Kelley to ruin her own cover.

:::

For spring break, they’ve booked a house in Florida with the entire soccer team, and Alex honestly can’t wait to just be by the pool for an entire week.

But first, she needs to get these damn exams out of the way.

It’s around 11 o’clock on Thursday night and she’s in the only Starbucks on campus that is still open at this hour, when Christen calls her.

“Hey,” Alex says, trying not to sound too surprised as she picks up.

“Hi,” Christen says. “What are you doing right now?”

“Reading articles.” Alex glares at the enormous pile of papers in front of her. “I’m at the Starbucks by the library.”

“Can I join?” Christen says. “Everywhere else is super loud and the girls are driving me insane.”

Alex laughs. “Yes, of course.”

Fifteen minutes later, Christen is in front of her with a chai latte, her laptop, and a whole bunch of study notes to go through. Alex doesn’t say much, just bows back over her books and lets Christen study in peace. They both need this sometimes; a little bit of a break from all the mess and chaos.

It’s not until Alex notices the phone number that is scrawled in messy writing on Christen’s receipt, that she breaks through the silence. “Wait, did that guy just give you his number?”

She glances at guy behind the counter, who is busy taking orders.

Christen shrugs, not really looking up. “Yeah.”

When she doesn’t elaborate, Alex says, “Uh—and are you going to text him?”

“Nah,” Christen mumbles. “I’m not interested.”

Alex studies her; the way she’s busy writing neat little notes on her flash cards, trying to keep her eyes on the page like she’s not affected at all. Like she is very much not going to admit that she is hooking up with Alex’s best friend, and probably has been for longer than Alex even really knows.

The tips of Christen’s ears have turned slightly red, though—and that’s what pushes Alex on.

“No?” she says, trying to keep her voice even as much as possible, but barely managing to keep the smile off her face. “Why are you not interested? Is it because of that other guy, Jesse?”

Christen looks up. “No, I stopped seeing Jesse.”

“Oh?” Alex says, feigning surprise. “Why?”

Christen laughs a little nervously. “Just because. I don’t know, I didn’t really like him that much to begin with. What’s with all the questions, Al?”

Alex ignores Christen’s deflection. She’s turning the words over in her head, trying to find a way to say what she really wants to say, without pushing the line. She wants to say that she thinks Christen is really good for Tobin. That she’s never seen her best friend smile this much before. That Christen doesn’t have to be worried about the reactions of the rest of the team. That Alex figured everything out months ago, already.

Instead, she says, “You know, last year, before you were here, Julie and I had a bit of a thing for a while.”

Christen’s eyes widen slightly.

“Okay…” she says after a second, clearly not sure what to do this particular bit of information. “That’s—”

“It wasn’t serious or anything,” Alex adds quickly. “I mean, I think Julie was already pretty much in love with Zach, and I—I don’t know. I was, like, figuring things out, or something.” She is rushing through her sentences, not really sure where she is going, but trying to get the words out before she loses her nerve. “Anyway, I always thought that it didn’t work out because we were playing for the same team. That we were not able to separate the professional from the personal. And then for a while I was really against in-team dating—”

She can see the way Christen flinches—not much but just a tiny little bit, just enough of a tell for Alex to know that she _is_ right about this, and that she needs to keep going.

So she hurries to add, “But the thing is… It wasn’t about the team. In the end, we didn’t work out because we weren’t in love with each other—and _that_ ’s what made things complicated. So, I just—” She stumbles a bit. “I just wanted to say that I think that if you’re with the right person, being on the same team shouldn’t have to be a problem, you know? And that… that, everyone should just… you know, go for it. If that’s what they want.”

It has got to be the most ineloquent monologue that Alex has ever given, and she internally cringes at herself.

Christen is looking at her with slightly narrowed eyes. She swallows hard as she takes the words in. She’s also blushing more than before, and Alex _knows_ that she’s thinking it over in her head, can feel Christen’s hesitation.

“You know—” Christen says, then, and Alex is holding her breath, thinks _here we go_ , gets herself ready for the admission, to hear that all along, Christen and Tobin—

But then, Christen’s eyes suddenly go wide. “Wait, is this about Kelley?”

It’s like a soccer ball against the head.

“ _What_?”

Christen freezes. “Oh—never mind, I thought you were—” She grabs her cup and takes a big gulp, before stammering out, “When you said that thing about… Never mind.” She coughs. “Great talk, though, Alex. I’m—I’m glad that you and Julie are fine now. Thanks for telling me.”

Alex is barely able to speak.

Christen immediately turns back to her flash cards. “I’m going to go back to studying.”

Alex nods, too shocked to properly reply.

She reaches for her phone and finds Kelley’s name in her contacts. She types out, _did you talk to press about me or something?_

After about a minute, Kelley texts back, _Why would I be talking about you? You’re not that interesting._ Winkey face.

Alex fights the urge to roll her eyes, before she responds, sort of hesitantly, _christen just said the weirdest thing…_

 _Oh,_ Kelley types back. _Want to have a breakfast date tomorrow morning and talk about it?_

Ales responds, _yes please_ , before adding, _9 @ lola’s?_

She’s already turned back to her study notes, when her phone buzzes with Kelley’s message.

_Perfect xx_

Alex smiles at her phone, doesn’t notice the way Christen is looking at her from across the table.

:::

The Florida house is a dream come true. 

They’ve got a huge living area and a pool with an ocean view, and there’s more than enough space for everybody—though Kelley insists on sharing with Alex because, “You always room with Tobin at away games and now it’s my turn.”

It’s going to be a slow holiday, Alex decides.

No relationship drama, no soccer drama. Just sipping cocktails in her bathing suit and catching up with everybody and going out at night. That’s what spring break is for.

She’s not going to worry about anything.

Especially not her dumb teammates who won’t admit that they’re dating.

:::

They’re only on their second day when Alex’s dumb teammates begin to drive her a little bit crazy.

It starts with all the _touching_.

Whatever they’re doing, whether they’re just hanging out in the apartment, getting groceries, watching tv, having drinks by the pool, some part of Tobin’s body always has to be touching Christen’s—like, all the time.

They keep brushing hands when they pass by each other in the kitchen, keep bumping their elbows against each other during dinner. They’re in each other’s space when they’re in the pool; splashing each other with water and trying to push the other under like they’re twelve years old. Tobin always seems to have her fingers on Christen’s hip or shoulder or anywhere really; Christen is always subconsciously playing with the hem of Tobin’s shorts—

It’s driving Alex crazy.

Not the fact that they’re touching—the fact that none of it is proof _enough_.

“Woah—why are you looking so angry?”

Kelley’s voice abruptly pulls Alex back to reality. She’d been slicing limes into parts for their drinks, but got momentarily distracted by the sight of Christen and Tobin on the couch; Tobin playing absentmindedly with Christen’s fingers and Christen siting _way_ too close for it to be casual. 

“They’re annoying,” Alex says. “Why won’t they just kiss so we can know for sure and just get it over with?”

Kelley’s smile is slow and teasing. “You want them to kiss?”

“I want them to do _something_ ,” Alex snaps. “This is getting ridiculous.” She lowers her voice a little bit, pointing her knife at the rest of their team. “And why are all of these idiots being so oblivious? They don’t even see what is happening, like, right in front of them!”

“Okay—first of all, give me that.” Kelley steps forward and quickly takes the knife from Alex’s hand. Her fingers brush along the inside of Alex’s wrist in an attempt to calm her down a bit. “You know, maybe we should just give them some space?”

Alex thinks it over.

“No,” she says, then. “They need the opposite of space. They need to realize that they’re being obvious. That we know exactly what is going on between them. They need to be called out.”

Kelley narrows her eyes. “That sounds like a really bad idea. I mean, I know you want your money, but— What are you—”

Alex is already moving. She dumps the lime slices unceremoniously in their Desperados bottles, leaving one on the counter top for Kelley, before striding over to the couch.

She pushes Tobin’s hand off of Christen’s leg and sits down right between them, in the middle.

Behind her, she can hear Kelley groan.

“Uh—” Tobin says, confused.

“Oh, sorry!” Alex says. “I didn’t realize you two were sitting here already. Just the two of you. Together.”

From the corner of her eye, Alex watches Kelley facepalm.

Christen shrugs, moves a bit to the side to allow Alex some space. “No problem, you can join.”

 _Oh_.

That’s a little different from the _fuck off because we want to be alone_ that Alex was hoping she’d get.

Anyway, she’ll roll with it.

They’re watching a re-run of the last NWSL game. Sky Blue is playing Orlando Pride, so it doesn’t take long for Alex to actually get into it. After about a second, Tobin folds her arms, then puts her feet up on the coffee table in front of them. Then, Sky Blue scores, and Christen puts her feet up on the coffee table, too.

Alex glares at their feet.

Next thing, Tobin shifts slightly, until the tip of her toe is brushing against Christen’s ankle.

Alex glares harder.

From the corner of her eyes, she can see Kelley shake her head and grin, mouthing, “You’re being so fucking weird.”

Alex scoffs.

Whatever.

By the end of the game, they’ll confess.

:::

Tobin and Christen stay like that for the entire 90 minutes, not asking Alex to move out of their way once and not admitting anything either.

“Excellent game,” Christen says at the end. “Want to go swim, Alex?”

“I’ll go,” Tobin says.

They’re up and out of the living room before Alex can respond.

Kelley drops down next to Alex on the couch, grinning smugly. “Such a great move, Al. I’m completely convinced they’re together now. Let me just empty my bank account for you already, because you really _deserve_ those hundred bucks.”

Alex kicks Kelley’s leg with her own. “You suck. You’re not helping either.”

Kelley kicks her back. “Just keep trying.”

Her foot stays pressed against Alex’s. 

:::

The whole team goes out.

Alex, who has been spending all of her time in the sun and who is a very particular spring break kind drunk—rosé followed by five tequila shots—decides tonight is the night for a mission. 

Different day, different tactics.

She can feel her head spinning; the heat and the alcohol and the lack of sleep are blurring the edges of her vision a little bit. Her skin is hot all over and she knows she’s swaying on her feet, but whatever—

Tonight is the night.

She is going to get her hundred dollars.

“Kell,” she says, as they enter the club, wrapping her arms around Kelley’s neck so that she can speak closer to her ear. “Kell, I’ve got a feeling that tonight is the night.”

The music is _very_ loud.

Kelley, who is far from sober, but who tends to take slightly more measured decisions than Alex, puts her hands on Alex’s waist, trying to take this seriously. “What did you say, babe?”

 _Huh_.

There’s something nice about that, Alex thinks.

Something a little weird, but also something kind of nice.

She can feel Kelley’s body close to hers, the way her breath skims the side of Alex’s neck, the way Kelley’s fingers are brushing against the bare skin of Alex’s hip, just above the waistband of her shorts.

It takes her a second to remember what she wanted to say.

“Let’s go make them kiss,” she says, then.

“We can’t _make_ —”

But Alex has already taken Kelley’s hand in her own, pulling her in the direction of where the rest of the girls are already dancing.

Most of them are there. Lindsey, Emily, Morgan and Mal are dancing wildly together, all bad moves and a lot of drunk screaming. Sam and Julie are probably outside, getting themselves into trouble with the locals. And a little off to the side, are Tobin and Christen. They’re not really dancing, just talking. 

Tobin’s doing her whole confident-cool-girl thing, with her shorts and her stupid Bodega hat, her arm against the wall over Christen’s shoulder as she leans in closer to hear her better. Christen, dressed in the nicest little black dress that Alex has ever seen, is trying not to smile too much at whatever Tobin is saying, but clearly not being able to stop herself. 

Alex, feeling that fifth tequila shot hit, lights up at the sight of them.

“Hey!” she screams, making her way over and wrapping her arms around the both of them at the same time. “My two favorites! I’m so happy you’re both here. Together.”

Tobin grins at her. “We all left the house at the same time, but okay. Are you drunk?”

Alex feels like this is very rich coming from Tobin, but not necessarily untrue. Not wanting to admit it, though, she turns to Christen instead, leans in close, and says, “Have you told her the thing yet? About the thing we talked about in Starbucks?”

Christen’s eyebrows furrow. She strokes a loose strand of hair out of Alex’s face, and then says, “I only got about three words in that entire sentence, Al.”

“I just—” Alex says, pulling on both of their hands. “—think that it’s time, you know. It’s been long enough. And we know, right, Kell? We figured it out! I mean, Kelley’s not a hundred percent convinced, yet, but we _know_.”

Kelley, always Alex’s greatest friend, wraps her arm around Alex’s waist. “I don’t know what you just said, but sure.”

Tobin is frowning. ““I feel like I’m totally missing something.”

Alex has no patience for this. “Have you kissed Press yet, tonight?”

Tobin’s eyes go wide. “What—”

“Because I think you should,” Alex says. “Kelley and I think it’s been long enough. We think… it is time…” Alex drags it out slowly. “… that you two… kiss. Preferably in front of us.”

Christen lets out a shaky sort of laugh, looks at Tobin like she’s not entirely sure how to respond. Before Alex can say anything else, Kelley sways a little bit forward, her hand on Alex’s shoulder to steady herself, and suddenly Alex knows.

“Actually,” she says. “I’ll make you a deal. If you kiss, we’ll kiss, too. Kelley and I.” 

That’s one way to get a hundred dollars.

Tobin laughs right in her face. “Okay, I know you’re drunk, but what’s with this whole frat boy attitude, Alex?”

Alex can feel Kelley looking at her.

She turns slightly. “What?”

“Nothing,” Kelley says, but the look in her eyes is a little darker than before.

And suddenly, Alex is not really all that interested in Tobin and Christen, anymore. Her skin feels a little tight; like she’s heating up from the inside.

“No, tell me,” she says, her hand finding Kelley’s. “You look… Did I say something wrong?”

Kelley shakes her head. “No, you… I’m just—” She shakes her head again. “Never mind, I just—I think I need some water.”

_Oh, fuck._

Alex hates it when Kelley’s not feeling good.

“Kell,” she says, pulling her slightly to the side. “What do you want? Do you want to go home? I’m here, okay. Whatever you want, I’ll come with.”

Alex is drunk.

She forgets about her mission.

:::

Half an hour later, Kelley is sitting on top of the kitchen counter in the empty house, a glass of water in her hands.

Alex is just finishing her own. She doesn’t feel any less drunk, but she does feel the quiet of the house around her—feels like she can think a little better in the dark like this.

She leans against Kelley’s leg. “You feeling a bit better?”

Kelley doesn’t answer the question. She takes a slow sip of water, looking like she’s thinking very hard about something, and then she says, “Do you think it’s serious?”

Alex doesn’t immediately understand. “What?”

“Christen and Tobin,” Kelley says. “Do you think it’s, like…. the real thing between them?”

Alex closes her eyes. “Look,” she starts. “I know that you don’t want to give me the money without any proof, but I swear to God, they’re absolutely, certainly—”

“No,” Kelley cuts in. “I’m not talking about the money or getting proof or whatever. They’re obviously together, I _know_ that—”

Alex blinks hard.

What about the mission?

“I just…” Kelley looks down, “I don’t know, I wanted to know if you think it’s real— If you think that they’re, like, you know… in love with each other.”

Alex watches the way Kelley is biting down on her bottom lip, like something about this conversation is making her nervous.

She thinks it over.

She thinks about the way that Tobin had looked at Christen before they went to the club tonight. How Christen had pulled on the hem of her dress a little self-consciously, how she’d said, “What?” when Tobin wouldn’t look away, and how Tobin had said “Nothing” in a way that sounded a lot like it was _everything_ —like she couldn’t quite believe that she was even in the same room as Christen.

She thinks about all the times that Christen asks Tobin to play one-on-one soccer, even after they’ve already spent 90 minutes on the field; how they’re both so into soccer that they don’t ever want to stop; that Christen understands the way that Tobin plays the game better than anyone else, and that she respects it and loves it and wants to be a part of it; how well it works, like they know each other’s moves way before the rest of the team has caught up. 

Alex thinks about the way she sometimes catches them looking at each other; the way they always want to be close; how it’s been pretty inevitable, right from the beginning, from that first night at that dumb house party, even when she didn’t really see it yet. 

She doesn’t think she’s ever seen Tobin smile as much as she has the past months.

She says, “I hope they are.”

Kelley nods slowly. There’s a stretch of silence between them, and then she adds, sort of soft, “Do you think they’re also friends?”

That knocks Alex breathless.

She doesn’t know why.

She stares up at Kelley, watches the way Kelley is looking back at her, all close observation and trying to see through something that Alex is barely even aware of.

Alex says, “Kell…”

There’s a loud splash outside and both of them startle away from each other.

“It’s nothing,” Kelley rushes to say, “Someone must have jumped in the pool.”

She slides off the kitchen counter and fills the glass of water again. Her cheeks are slightly red.

Alex feels dizzy in a way that’s got nothing to do with the alcohol.

She fills her own glass for the second time, too. She drinks slowly, watching Kelley turn back towards her until they’re facing each other again. She lets the silence fill the air, can’t quite take her eyes off of Kelley.

Then, she remembers suddenly. “So, you _did_ believe it all this time?”

“What?” Kelley says, putting the glass back on the counter.

“That they’re together,” Alex says. “You said it wasn’t about the money and the proof.”

Kelley rolls her eyes. “No, it _is_. Until we’ve got proof, I’m still not a hundred percent convinced that they’re—”

“But you are, though,” Alex cuts in, taking the slightest step closer. “You said ‘They’re obviously together’.”

She’s grinning at the way Kelley seems slightly embarrassed, almost like she didn’t mean to admit that in the first place.

It makes Alex feel a little bold.

“All this time,” she says, “You just went along with me, letting me work myself up over this. Even though you were already pretty much convinced. What kind of friendship is that, Kelley?”

She’s saying it teasingly.

But then Kelley looks up, snatches all the breath from Alex lungs, as she says, “I like seeing you worked up.”

Alex’s whole body burns.

She can feel her heart racing in her throat, and all of a sudden, she doesn’t feel all that in control, anymore—not with the way that Kelley is slowly arching an eyebrow at her, like she knows exactly what that does to Alex.

Like, she knows exactly that she only needs to push it about _an inch_ further and Alex will press her up against that counter and—

The door slams open abruptly.

Alex freezes.

And then—

Christen drags Tobin inside by her shirt, pulling on it like she can’t quite control herself, and then she kisses her, moaning right into Tobin’s mouth.

They’re both dripping wet—still wearing their clothes and getting pool water all over the floor.

Tobin makes a sort of strangled sound, hands on Christen’s waist, pushing her through the apartment until Christen’s back hits the wall. They kiss hard, all sliding hands and raspy breathing. Tobin’s Bodega hat falls on the floor as she begins to push Christen’s dress down her shoulder.

“Fuck…” Christen’s voice is hoarse with Tobin’s lips against her neck. “I want you so much— you— you’re driving me completely—”

The rest of the sentence is swallowed as Tobin kisses her again, right before pulling her away from the wall, through the door and into the hallway that leads to the bedrooms.

The door falls closed behind them.

Alex is completely paralyzed.

She is squeezing Kelley’s hand so hard that she can barely feel her fingers. They’re still in the dark of the kitchen, pressed close together against the counter.

“ _Oh my god…_ ” Kelley breathes out, after what feels like an eternity. “Oh my god, oh my god…”

Alex thinks her head is going to explode.

They just got their evidence.

:::

“The problem is,” Kelley says the next day when they’re at the beach, just the two of them, trying to sunbathe their hangovers away. “The problem is that they don’t know that we know.”

“I’m not telling them that I saw _that_ ,” Alex says, horrified at the thought. “No chance in hell.”

Kelley grins at her. “You’re an idiot.”

“They basically fingered each other right in front of us, Kell!”

Alex is still not over it.

“I mean, they clearly didn’t know what they were walking in on,” Kelley says, putting her sunglasses on. The moment the words leave her mouth, she goes tense. “Not that I— I didn’t mean, like, _walk in on_ , obviously. There wasn’t—”

Alex feels her throat go dry. “Right.”

“Right,” Kelley says quickly. 

They’re both quiet for a moment, and Alex tries not to think about. Tries not to think about how she was drunk enough to want a lot of things yesterday, and how maybe she would still want some of those things, even if she wasn’t drunk. Which is—

Concerning.

“Anyway,” she says, shaking herself out of it. “What are we going to do?”

“We wait, I guess,” Kelley says, sighing slowly. “That’s all we can do, really. We wait until they tell us.”

:::

They’re going to be waiting until Alex dies, probably.

Because damn, Tobin and Christen seem in no rush to confess. 

They’ve been back on campus for a few weeks, already, and so far nothing has changed.

Okay, that’s not true.

Now, each time Tobin and Christen are having coffee together in their kitchen, Kelley keeps glancing at Alex from the other side of the couch. Now, each time Tobin and Christen spend a little too much time in the locker rooms post-practice, Alex and Kelley know exactly what is taking them so long. Now, at every team dinner or movie night or even soccer match, Alex finds herself having to bite her tongue not to comment on the way Tobin and Christen keep gravitating towards each other, with only Kelley understanding her frustration. 

They’re slowly driving Alex insane.

That is what is happening.

They’re driving her insane—and if they keep it up, sometime soon, she is going to snap.

:::

It begins with the phone. 

Christen is late to practice, so all of them are already on the pitch, stretching and warming up. Tobin’s standing a little to the sidelines, staring intently at her phone, when Alex runs up to her.

“Where’s Press?” she asks.

“Locking room,” Tobin says, “She’s changing. Said she’ll be here asap.”

Alex narrows her eyes, because obviously Christen is currently very busy texting Tobin and not at all trying to get here _as soon as possible_. But whatever. Alex throws her leg up on the fence, stretching her hamstring.

After a moment, though, she notices that something’s off about Tobin.

For one thing, Tobin is not running around her with a ball attached to her foot, trying to show off how well she can nutmeg, or aiming shot after shot shot at the goal, like she does almost every single warm-up.

She’s leaning back against the fence, looking all tense, all flustered.

 _Oh, god_ , Alex thinks.

It’s almost like she can hear Tobin’s heart race while she stares at her phone. There’s a high blush on her cheeks, and she looks like she’s scared she’ll miss a message coming through if she takes her eyes off for even one second. Alex watches as Tobin types something back to whatever Christen’s saying, biting down on her bottom lip. A second later, her phone buzzes and Tobin’s breath hitches in her throat. 

No—

She can’t be—

She wouldn’t—not during soccer practice.

Tobin’s phone buzzes again and Alex watches as Tobin’s thumb slides over the screen, before she makes a strangled sort of noise—and Alex snaps.

“ _Hey_!” she starts.

Tobin startles so much that she drops her phone, and it’s only with the best of athlete reflexes that Alex manage to catch it, flips it over in her hand—

—to an open picture of topless Christen Press. 

Alex drops the phone instantly.

She’s torn between screaming Tobin’s ears off and simultaneously not wanting to admit that she knows. In the end, she takes the easiest way out; just runs off towards the other end of the pitch as quickly as she can, leaving Tobin by the fence and pretending like she didn’t just see her best friend’s girlfriend half naked.

When she tells Kelley later, Kelley can’t stop laughing.

Alex thinks that things can’t get any worse from here.

:::

Turns out, again, that sometimes Alex is wrong. 

:::

They’re at an away game, spending the night in an hotel.

Alex is rooming with Tobin rather than with Kelley, but mostly because Tobin couldn’t room with Christen, since Christen is still back on campus, benched by Coach because of a slight ankle injury that needs to heal first before she can play again.

They won their game 3-1, with Alex scoring once, Tobin scoring once, and Rose, hero of the game, taking them to certain victory in the 85th minute. The whole team has been in a celebratory mood all night, and some part of Alex is actually sad that Christen is not there to enjoy it with them. It just doesn’t feel the same without her there.

On the other hand, it’s good to spend some time with Tobin, just the two of them.

They haven’t done a lot of that lately.

Alex lets Tobin treat her to drinks in the bar of the hotel, and then they end up kicking a soccer ball back and forth between them in the hallway in front of their room for about an hour, just talking and laughing.

Tobin’s loose and happy—all bright smiles and confidence after their win.

“Hey,” she says, kicking the ball up and onto Alex’s right foot. “You know what we should do?”

“What?”

“Go on holiday. Just for a few days. At the beginning of the summer or something, when we’ve got a little bit of time off.” Tobin smiles. “Just you and me and Kell. Like we did two years ago.”

Alex smiles. “Based on how things went down two years, the person you need to convince is Kelley. I’m definitely in.”

Tobin grins. “You’re the one who kept teaming up against her with me. She hates it when we do that.”

“Okay, fine.” Alex kicks the ball back. “We’ll be nicer this time. Make more responsible decisions. Not bring any Norwegian surfers home with us to play strip poker.”

Tobin laughs. “That was fun, though.”

“Yeah, it was.”

For a second, their eyes lock, and Alex wonders if Tobin knows it, too—the implication of what they’re saying. That they’re not the same people they were two years ago. Not Alex, who had her heart all over the place and needed attention to feel good about herself. Not Kelley, who was nervous and stressed, and got way into her head about soccer and school all the time. Not Tobin, who only cared about scoring goals and sleeping with girls who’d leave again first thing in the morning.

Not that there was anything wrong with that.

But—

Things have changed.

“You know,” Tobin says. “Kelley really loves you.”

It hits so sudden and sincere that Alex is not ready for it.

She swallows hard, feeling a little unsteady at what that sentence does with her heart. She is pretty sure that Tobin’s able to see it on her face, though.

“Yeah…” she says. “I know.”

Tobin gives her a soft smile, kicks the ball, waits for Alex to kick it back.

Then Alex says, “You could ask Christen to come with us. If you want to.”

Tobin smiles a little wider, and then Alex strides forward, trying to take the ball before she can pass it back. They end up fighting for it, legs kicking against each other as they tumble to the ground, laughing. Alex leans back against the wall.

“Would that be okay?” Tobin says, then. “If I really asked her.”

Alex smiles. “Yeah, of course. I love Christen. She’s cool.” At the sight of Tobin’s face, Alex kicks her foot hard. “And I love you, too, you idiot.”

She wants to say, _just tell me._

She wants to say, _just tell me that you’re in love with her, stop worrying, it’s all going to be all right, you’re going to be fine, it’s a good thing to love people hard._

She doesn’t.

She’ll wait.

:::

Five hours later, Alex has no love for Tobin anymore.

:::

She wakes up because the light in the bathroom is on. The door is slightly ajar and for a second, Alex is disoriented because Tobin’s not next to her in the bed, and Alex’s sleepy mind can’t really put the two together.

But then she hears Tobin’s voice.

It’s a little hoarse.

“Miss you…” Tobin mumbles, kind of low and soft, like she doesn’t really want to admit it. “Missed you all night.”

And, oh—

She’s calling Christen.

Alex closes her eyes, tries to fall back asleep again.

She is too tired to deal with this right now.

But then Tobin’s voice comes through again.

“Yeah?” There’s a bit of a teasing edge to it, especially when, after a moment Tobin adds, “Well, if I’d known you were going to stream the game, I would’ve showed off for you more…”

There’s a silence. Then, Christen says something that makes Tobin laugh a little bit, and Alex tries to stay as sleepy as possible, doesn’t really want to wake up for real. But the sound of their conversation, no matter how quiet, still carries through.

Tobin hums a little bit, and then she says, “My jersey?”

Alex turns over in the bed, tries to find the cool side of the pillow.

But right as she has closed her eyes again, Tobin’s voice changes. “Wait, you’re – you’re still wearing it?” There’s a second of silence and then she breathes out, “You’re only— _fuck, Chris_.” 

Alex’s eyes are instantly open.

Oh, no.

Oh, no, no, no.

This is not going to happen.

She can hear Tobin shift a little. “Chris — babe, I’m…” There’s a roughness to her voice that was definitely not there before. “No, she’s sleeping, but…”

It’s quiet for a long moment.

And then Tobin says, “Fuck—that’s… God, you’re so hot…”

Alex panics.

This _cannot_ be happening right now.

She’s a good person.

She doesn’t deserve this.

Paralyzed, she tries to think of a way to get out of this. A way to get Tobin to stop doing whatever she’s about to be doing, right freaking now. Before Alex has an aneurysm and dies an untimely death in this hotel.

“No, tell me,” Tobin says, her voice all desperate. “I want to hear you.” 

Alex is going to move across country.

She is never going to speak to Tobin _ever_ again.

She reaches blindly for her phone on her nightstand, trying to pull it from the charger, right as she hears Tobin make a frustrated noise, before saying, “God— _I_ should be the one doing that—”

Alex nearly chokes.

She’s shaking so much that she can barely pull up Kelley’s contact in her phone.

“Love it so much when you do that—” Tobin rambles on. “Fuck—I _love_ it when you get impatient like that—”

Alex types out _CALL ME IMMEDIATELY_ in all caps. 

She hits send, right as Tobin actually fucking moans. “ _Baby—_ ”

And then—

Alex might marry Kelley someday.

Because her phone goes off that very second and Kelley’s name flashes across the screen, and Alex thinks she actually might; marry her someday.

There’s sudden, absolute silence from the bathroom, as Britney’s “Womanizer”—Alex’s dumb ringtone that Kelley set for her in, like, freshman year—plays awkwardly through the hotel room.

And then Tobin kicks the door closed, right as Alex picks up.

“Kell,” she says.

“What the hell is going on?” Kelley says. “Don’t scare me like that!”

Alex has to put every single fiber of her willpower to keeping her voice under control. “Oh?” she says. “What are you’re saying? You had a nightmare?”

“ _What—_ ” Kelley sputters. “I thought there was an emergency.”

“No, of course, I’ll come right over,” Alex says. “I’ll be right there. Don’t worry, okay? It’s all going to be fine.”

“What the fuck are you—”

She hangs up, jumps out of bed, and sprints out of the hotel room.

:::

Kelley tries not to laugh when Alex tells her.

She really tries to, but when Alex gets to the part where Tobin basically full-on admitted that she loves it when Christen begs, Kelley loses it. She laughs so much that Alex has to jump on top of her to make her stop—and even then she keeps laughing.

“You’re cute,” Kelley says, when she’s finally got enough breath. She’s grinning up at Alex with something in her eyes that makes Alex feel warm all over. “All worked up like this. You’re fucking cute.”

Alex blushes hard, pushes herself off of Kelley’s body, and hides her face in the pillow. Kelley blows a loose strand of Alex’s hair out of her face.

“Just stay here,” Kelley whispers, and Alex does.

They fall asleep in Kelley’s bed—Alex’s hand brushing softly against Kelley’s shoulder—and maybe Alex is already reconsidering moving across country.

:::

The least they can do, is have a little fun with it.

“Over here!”

“Sam! Sam! Pass it to me!”

They’re playing five vs. five games after practice, just for fun. Kelley, Christen, Rose, Julie and Alex versus Tobin, Morgan, Mal, Sam and Lindsey.

It’s chaotic—everyone having lost focus already after all the drills Coach made them go through. They’re all screaming over each other, not marking their positions at all, being way too reckless with the ball.

It’s fun, though.

Alex loves this.

Loves it when they’re all just _on_ the ball, like they’re little kids again, just trying to score as many goals as possible.

Lindsey passes the ball high, and Alex collides with Tobin in an attempt to get it. She jabs her elbow hard against Tobin’s ribs and takes the ball easily when Tobin doubles over, flipping her off. She’s running up towards goal, but Sam tackles her to the ground, passing the ball back to Tobin immediately. Kelley is already sprinting over, ready to take it back for their team. She and Tobin fight it out, dribbling around each other, pulling on each other’s jerseys, taking forever to get the ball free—

And then all of a sudden Christen works her way between them, snatches the ball from Tobin’s foot, and takes off with it.

With all the defensive players out of position, she scores easily.

Alex runs over to high five her. “Nice one, Chris!”

Kelley jumps on top of both of them. “Press with the perfect shot, like always!”

Christen is laughing.

“Sorry I took your moment,” she’s saying to Kelley. “I was just getting tired of Tobin toying with the ball like that.”

Alex can’t resist. “No worries, Press. We know you can get impatient sometimes.”

Christen gives her a weird look, not really focused on what Alex is saying as she dribbles the ball back towards the middle of the field. “Uh—”

“Tobin likes that, apparently,” Kelley adds with the smuggest smile. “She likes it when you’re impatient.”

Christen trips over the ball.

Alex can’t stop laughing, runs back to the other side of the field before Christen can respond.

She winks at Kelley though—and Kelley winks back.

:::

In the end, it happens accidentally.

They’re playing cards, just the three of them—some stupid game that Kelley and Tobin are both obsessed with, one that Alex only barely understands the rules off. It doesn’t really matter. Alex doesn’t care about cards. It’s more fun to watch Kelley slam her first on the table in frustration every time Tobin gets away with another win.

It’s just a regular weekday. They played soccer, spent an hour or so in the library, and then Kelley made dinner, while Alex and Tobin strategized their next away game. And now, they’re playing cards.

They’re on their third round when the doorbell rings.

Alex is the only one who hears because Kelley and Tobin are both too engrossed in whatever combination of cards is now open on the table.

She gets up, opens the door, hugs Christen hello, and lets her in.

“Are they playing that dumb game again?” Christen says, with a shake of her head.

“What else?” Alex says. “You want something to drink?”

“Nah, thanks, I’m good.” 

She throws her jacket over the couch, asks Alex how her lab was this morning, then walks over to the table. Tobin and Kelley are too busy playing to even look up.

“That’s cheating!” Kelley yells. “You’re not allowed to play that one in the last round, we talked about this!”

“You did the exact same thing two games before!”

“Hey,” Christen says, her hand brushing Tobin’s shoulder as she takes the seat right next to her.

“Hey, Chris,” Tobin says, automatically, eyes still on her cards.

Alex watches Christen grin.

“Hi,” she says again, sort of affectionately.

And then, Tobin looks up. A slow smile curls around her lips as she finally seems to realize that Christen is actually here. She reaches out, strokes her hand over Christen’s jaw, and then leans in.

“Hey, baby,” Tobin says, kissing her softly, just like that.

“ _Hi_ ,” Christen says again, stupidly.

Alex gasps.

Kelley drops all of her cards on the table at once. “What the—”

Tobin’s eyes go wide as she seems to realize it. “Oh—”

:::

It happens accidentally.

No big declarations of love. No walking in on anybody. Nothing like what Alex had envisioned. For one moment, Tobin simply forgets that Kelley and Alex are there, and just kisses Christen hello without thinking about it, and that’s it.

Alex is jumping up and down, though.

Fucking _finally_.

She can’t stop smiling, hitting Tobin on her back, saying _I knew all along, I was the first one to figure it out_. Saying, _I can’t believe you didn’t even tell me_. Saying, _you have liked her since that very first night and you didn’t even tell your best friend in the whole world_ , _how dare you, I love you._

Tobin is just grinning a little sheepishly while Christen rolls her eyes, blushes.

:::

Later, when it’s just the two of them, Alex makes Kelley count out a hundred dollars to the cent exact.

:::

There’s a fair on the North side of campus.

Nothing big—just a few rides, some food trucks, and a Ferris wheel. The whole team is there. They went right after practice, just to check it out. Alex and Mal are sharing cotton candy, Tobin and Sam are trying to beat their own personal high scores at some basketball arcade game, and Kelley and Christen got dragged to some ride somewhere by Rose and Crystal.

Alex is about to ask Mal about that cute guy she’s been hanging out with lately, when Kelley stumbles over to her.

“I’m going to murder Crystal.”

Alex shifts to let her come a little closer. “Why?”

“That ride was the absolutely worst,” Kelley groans. “I’m so nauseous. Oh—cotton candy.” Her face lights up instantly, as she takes a bite away from Alex’s side immediately.

Alex laughs. “You said you were nauseous.”

“Yeah, but sugar helps,” Kelley says, with a grin. “It’s science.”

Alex wants to say something smart, but Kelley is licking the sugar off the tips of her fingers, and the sight of it makes Alex feel a little hot. She can’t really formulate a coherent thought, and Kelley only smiles a little wider, like she knows.

“Hey.” Christen slides up next to them. “Do you guys want to go to the bar with us to get a drink.” She smirks at Alex. “You look a little thirsty, Alex.”

Alex coughs. “I’m— I’m not.”

She still follows Christen inside the bar, though, to where the rest of the team are already gathered. Emily and Morgan immediately pull Christen away, because apparently the Utah Royals are being broadcasted, and they’re Christen’s favorite team.

“You want a drink?” Alex asks Kelley. “My treat.”

Kelley grins. “Didn’t think you were the kind of person to buy girls drinks at bars, Alex.”

Alex can’t stop her smile. “I mean, I’ve got a hundred dollars to spare, so… It’s not like I’m doing it for _you_.”

“Sure.” The way Kelley is looking at Alex, is making it difficult to think.

They make their way over to the bar. Alex orders them drinks, pays with a wink at Kelley—and, then, for some reason, even though the rest of their team are over on the other side, they stay at the bar. Just the two of them.

Alex takes a sip from her drink. “Can you believe we finally got our evidence…”

“Our mission is over,” Kelley says.

Alex pauses. “ _My_ mission, you mean.”

“Mm,” Kelley hums. “I’m pretty sure we figured it out together.”

Alex can feel her eyes widen. “Excuse me? You didn’t believe me for _months_!”

“But without me, there wouldn’t be a mission,” Kelley counters. “Admit it, you needed someone to prove it to.”

She’s smiling in this challenging sort of way that makes Alex want to push her already.

“ _Please_ ,” she scoffs. “You wouldn’t even listen to me. For weeks, I worked my ass off to convince you—and even on spring break when we were _so close_ and you still didn’t give in, still didn’t let me—”

Kelley kisses her.

She tastes of Jack & Coke and cotton candy. She tastes like the hot and needy thing right in the center of Alex’s chest. It doesn’t take much; just the nip of Kelley’s teeth on Alex’s bottom lip, and then Alex is pressing her back against the bar, kissing her harder, trying to get closer, trying to—

There’s an eruption of noise from the back of the bar.

_Oh fuck._

Somehow, Alex had forgotten they weren’t alone.

:::

“You owe me twenty dollars, Dunn—”

“Couldn’t you two hold it off at least until after the summer—”

“Way to go, O’Hara—you just got me a week’s worth of free breakfast at Lola’s.”

“Damn, I thought Alex was never going to give in to Kelley. Thought she was seriously going to die a lonely virgin—”

“ _Hey_!” Alex snaps at Emily, because that’s enough.

Money is being passed around the table like it’s nothing. Crystal is groaning in frustration as she rummages through her bag for her purse. Emily and Lindsey are high fiving each other.

And then, Tobin—Alex’s _best friend_ in the whole world—holds up her hand at Christen and says, “You owe me a hundred dollars, baby.”

Alex just about passes out.

“You—” she sputters. “You two—you made a _bet_? What— what… _when_?”

Tobin grins. “Around Halloween.”

“ _Halloween?_ ”

Christen nudges Kelley’s shoulder. “Come on, Kell, did you really have to kiss her in public like that? I had my money on you keeping everything private for at least another month.”

Kelley scoffs. “You’re one to talk! You and Tobin have been all over each other for like a year.”

There’s a second of silence as the whole team stares at her, and then—

Kelley clasps her hand over her mouth. “Oh my god, I forgot that it was still a secret.”

The silence stretches.

And then, Tobin says, with a frown, “It’s not a secret.”

There’s a really long moment where no one really says anything, and then Emily starts laughing a little bit. And then everyone else starts laughing, too—and Alex feels like she is having a heart attack.

“It’s… it’s _not_?” she says. “But all the— and you never even said anything and—”

Tobin shrugs. “Just because we don’t make out in the middle of a fucking bar like you two, doesn’t mean it’s a secret.” 

Kelley looks like this can’t be happening.

“So…” she says. “So… all this time — wait, _all of you_ knew already?”

Everyone begins to answer at the same time. Mallory shrugs, Julie is grinning like she hasn’t seen something this funny in a long time. Emily and Lindsey are talking over each other, saying “We’re not dumb” and “Of course Press and Heath are together”, and then Crystal says, “You and Kell are the only ones who took forever to figure it out.”

Alex thinks that her body is going to give out.

“No,” she hears herself say. “No, that’s impossible. Kelley and I were on top of it right from the beginning.”

Someone coughs something that sounds a lot like _on top of each other_ —and Alex can’t handle this anymore.

She turns to Tobin, who is still laughing, and then she says, “I’m going to fucking kill you.”

Tobin grins. “You’d have to get past my girlfriend first.”

Alex needs to find new friends. 

:::

Later—

Way later—

On some far off day into the future, when all of them are on a beach somewhere, all dressed up and drinking champagne; when Alex watches Christen lean a little more into Tobin’s side, intertwining their fingers, looking absolutely _stunning_ in her dress; when Tobin keeps pressing kisses to the ring on Christen’s finger, and Alex needs to tap her glass, interrupting another one of Emily’s anecdotes about their days at college, waiting until the noise quiets down; when she can feel Kelley squeeze her hand, looking like she’s already trying to hold back tears, even though Alex hasn’t even started her speech yet—

Later, Alex will say that she was the first one to figure it out.

And no one will ever agree with her. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: 
> 
> Technically, this is now a preath wedding fic.
> 
> What a wild ride this was. My personal highlight was making Alex's ring tone "Womanizer" when Tobin is getting Christen off over the phone. Favorite thing to write ever. 
> 
> Alex's point of view was so much fun to write! I can’t believe how quickly I’ve fallen in love with this fandom. You’re all really cool and I can’t wait to write more/read more/talk to y’all more. 
> 
> Tell me your thoughts on this!  
> -Blake

**Author's Note:**

> A/N:  
> The alternative title for this was “Alex Morgan being oblivious for 6000 words” 
> 
> Let me know what you think! Would love to hear your thoughts.
> 
> Have a wonderful day, wherever you are in the world!  
> -Blake


End file.
